Career night from Gilgeous-Alexander powers OKC Thunder to win over Utah

Still without its two big men, the Oklahoma City Thunder took on a mostly healthy Utah Jazz and came away with a 123-114 win, improving to 36-7 on the season.

The Thunder faithful were in for a surprise against the Jazz as OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a career-high in points. He scored 54 points on 17-for-35 shooting to cap his career-best performance.

Utah forwards John Collins and Lauri Markkanen both returned for this matchup. Collins had not played since January 4th and Markkanen since January 11th. It made for an interesting rotation as young talent has taken over the Utah roster.

It was the Jazz who got off to a hot start, leading by as many as five points in the first quarter. No single player stood out in that run, getting contributions from Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, Collins and others. The shots simply weren’t falling in that stretch, and Utah’s defense held up its end of the bargain as well.

OKC’s defense stepped up at the end of the first quarter, and defensive champion Alex Caruso was the driving force behind it. He forced two straight turnovers at the end of the quarter, resulting in a mid-range jumper from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but his general presence and quick hands also made a difference.

Caruso’s hustle and scoring on the offensive end also made an impression. He finished with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting, and added three rebounds and five steals to his consistent stat line. OKC would eventually take the lead in the second quarter and again Caruso was the main reason why.

Cason Wallace and Gilgeous-Alexander also helped with the lead in the first half. Wallace finished the half with 10 points and Gilgeous-Alexander with 23. Wallace missed just one shot in that period.

Turnovers were at the expense of the Utah Jazz and the Thunder’s saving grace in the first half. Oklahoma City forced 14 in the half and 27 in the game and scored 39 points off those turnovers. Despite a late surge by the Jazz, OKC led 57-55 at halftime.

The late first-half surge by the visitors carried into the second, with the Jazz staying connected. The Markkanen was the main reason for it, and also hit from outside and inside it.

At the same time, Gilgeous-Alexander continued his scoring frenzy by getting to the free throw line and attacking his classic mid-range spots. When the shots weren’t falling, the charity stripe became his best friend. He went 17-for-18 from the free throw line as the game ended, using an easy scoring tool to his advantage.

For the third time in the past four games, Branden Carlson was hot from the perimeter. He finished with six points while going 2-for-4 from outside. On his second consecutive 10-day contract, Carlson continues to make an impact off the bench for the Thunder.

Utah came out swinging in the fourth quarter, cutting its deficit to just one point after two triples from Collin Sexton and a frantic layup from Collins. The rest of the quarter was hotly contested.

The main reason for the game’s closeness was the rebounding battle that went in favor of the Jazz. Utah won the contest 52 to 39 and grabbed 23 offensive rebounds compared to OKC’s 13. This was the most glaring statistical difference in the game.

Both teams were looking for momentum late in the fourth quarter, and it was OKC that found it, starting with an and-one bucket from Jalen Williams. Back-to-back triples from Wallace and Gilgeous-Alexander, followed by a pair of free throws, extended OKC’s lead to 11 points.

The Thunder continue their solid play with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks at home at 7:00 PM CT on Thursday, January 23rd.

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