With 1:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Jazz-Thunder Game 2 matchup on Wednesday, OKC held a 10-point lead; the largest of either team for the night. Given the number of stars on the Thunder roster, one could have safely assumed at least one of OKC’s scorers would have emerged in the fourth quarter to steer the team to a 2-0 series lead.
OKC’s Big 3 missed all 14 shots in the 4th quarter. That’s not good at all.
If the Thunder don’t get their stars in line, they could be in trouble heading to Utah.
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That didn’t happen.
Instead, after combining for 52 points on a modest 43 percent clip in the first three periods, neither Russell Westbrook nor Paul George nor Carmelo Anthony recorded a field goal in the fourth quarter. They shot 0-of-14 combined from the floor in the final period as the Thunder were outscored 28-16 in the fourth. Rather than one of three proven stars on the OKC roster, rookie Donovan Mitchell exploded for 13 fourth-quarter points.
The Jazz beat the Thunder, 102-95, to even the series at one apiece before it heads back to Salt Lake City for Games 3 and 4.
First of all, that’s unacceptable
Playoff games with high expectations are the reason why OKC traded Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana for George, then Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a second-rounder to the Knicks for Melo. They went all-in on star power knowing Westbrook needed help in the playoffs if they wanted to get out of the first round.
George had a brilliant performance in the first game of the series with 38 points on 8-of-11 shooting from three. He played so well, the nickname “Playoff P” formed out of thin air. But after shooting 6-of-15 through the first three quarters, he put up a dud on 0-of-6 shooting in the fourth.
George, though, suffered a non-contact hip injury in practice on Tuesday. Head coach Billy Donovan was described him as not being able to do much after his hip got sore.
After OKC’s Game 2 loss, George said he expects to be back to 100 percent with the few days of rest he’ll get before Game 3. He was the different in Game 1. The Thunder need him to be equally as good if they want to secure a win in a tough environment in Salt Lake City.
Anthony was at a loss for words after he went 0-of-4 in seven minutes in the fourth quarter. The Thunder fought hard to take a 10-point lead after trailing seven against a gritty Jazz team in the third quarter, he said. When the fourth quarter came around, their shots just didn’t drop.
“I don’t know. I think we missed, I think we all missed,” Anthony said during his post-game media availability. “I don’t really have an answer to what happened or an excuse for why we didn’t make shots. We just didn’t make shots in the fourth quarter. We worked so hard in the third quarter to get the lead back, we played so well to get back and go up. ... Fourth quarter, we didn’t shoot the ball well.”
And if you ask Westbrook, well, he just thinks everyone needs to stay aggressive and hit the shots they’ve hit all season.
“We’ve just got to be aggressive,” Westbrook said. “Miss or make shots, shots are going to fall. Those guys are unbelievable scorers, and we’ve trusted in those guys all season long, and we’ll continue to do that.”
But the Thunder don’t seem too worried, so you probably shouldn’t be either
Yes, OKC is headed to Utah — one of the tougher places to play — for the next two games, and yes, the Jazz have the second-best defense in the league, one that gave the Thunder fits in Game 2. But Oklahoma City still has star power, and the NBA is a star-driven league.
Westbrook is due for one of his signature superhuman playoff performances, and even if Anthony doesn’t turn in a supreme offensive performance, the likelihood of both he and George putting up another fourth-quarter dud is low. For now, it’s too early to press the big red panic button.
But if things don’t change in Game 3, the Thunder could find themselves in piping hot water. The Jazz aren’t a team you want to mess with, not with the defense they play, and certainly not with the way Mitchell has been dominating.
A playoff series officially starts when a home team loses on their home floor. The series just started for OKC. It’s time for Westbrook, George and Anthony to wake up. If they don’t do it now, they’ll wake up down 2-1 with two more games to play on the road.
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