OKC Cruises to Win against Jazz

Huge night from Russell Westbrook helped Thunder to 121-105 victory.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:11 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Feb 5, 2011 10:32 PM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY – After Russell Westbrook shook off two defenders and drained a long, off-balance 3-pointer, he couldn’t help but laugh.

It was just one of those nights.

Ridiculous shooting across the board helped the Thunder to a 121-105 victory against division rival Utah on Saturday night.

Westbrook had a career high four 3-pointers (a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown) and led OKC with 33 points.

But Westbrook’s shooting was just the epitome of how wide the basket seemed for the Thunder the entire night.

Oklahoma City made a season-high 13 3-pointers, shooting 62 percent from beyond the arc. It also shot 57 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free-throw line.

Despite the final margin, Utah was actually the team that came out on fire to start the game, shooting 74 percent and scoring 37 points in the first quarter.

With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, the Jazz held a 13-point lead.

Oklahoma City didn’t actually gain its first lead until a Jeff Green free throw with 1:23 left in the first half made it 57-56.

But from there, the game was all Thunder. They extended their lead to 10 points by the end of the third quarter and led by 20 before pulling out the starters at the end of the game.

Westbrook added 10 assists to go with his 33 points, and Kevin Durant also provided a double-double (his fourth consecutive) with 21 points and 12 boards.

OKC now leads the Northwest Division by 3.5 games over Denver and four over Utah.

Also as important, Oklahoma City guaranteed at least a tie of the four-game series with the Jazz, which helps determine playoff seedings at the end of the year in case of identical records.

The Thunder have won five of their past six, and the schedule only gets easier over the next five games.

Oklahoma City will look to keep a three-game winning streak going at home against Memphis at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.