For the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Utah Jazz, it took 54 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It’s a loss, but it’s an impressive loss for the Jazz to lose close to the Thunder, 123-114.
Yes, the Thunder were missing Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren, but Utah had multiple leads in this game and kept it close till the end. The reason SGA scored 54 points was because he had to.
It’s a game that gives some great signs for the Jazz now and in the future. Against intense pressure from the OKC Thunder perimeter defense, the Utah Jazz found ways to score consistently and spread across the entire team. Outside of SGA scoring 54, easily the most dominant performance came from Walker Kessler who had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Kessler is turning into a force inside night after night. That type of consistency is the type of thing that can turn a player into a star in the league. I’m not sure that Kessler will ever be an all-star, but he will absolutely be a top-ten center in the league for a long time.
Lauri Markkanen was able to start again in this one and continued to slump in his most recent play. It’s hard to say if it’s the focus of opposing defenses or if he’s just struggling to shoot, but the three-point shot for the season is sub-40%. In the 7 games before this one, Markkanen has shot 32% from three. Tonight, he shot 3/10. It’s likely just a small slump, but for the season, Markkanen’s numbers are trending down. Is this just a down year, or is there more to it? Time will tell.
Finally, Utah’s guards struggled from the field but we’re seeing some exciting shooting from three. Keyonte George shot 2/5 from three, and Isaiah Collier shot 2/4. The exciting thing from George tonight was his passing. 10 assists is no small thing. And when you consider that Isaiah Collier shot 2/4 from three is another great sign. The biggest thing for the guards is consistency. They continue to get better and better, and it makes you wonder what things look like next year if both of them take a leap. Is the duo of Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier a potential backcourt of the future? take a leap.
