When the season started, people predicted the Oklahoma City Thunder as titled contenders. Unfortunately, they have gone through another disappointing postseason, which may have more implications than they think.
Thanks to Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz ended the playoffs for the Thunder this season and it was a wild game with much suspense at the end.
This series has been toe-to-toe, with both teams going off at particular times throughout the six games. At times, it was OKC coming back from deficits, while others, it was Utah fighting for the win. In this game, it was a bit of both.
When shots weren’t falling for the Thunder, Russ took over.
Westbrook clawed the team back to within three points late in the fourth quarter and it looked like the Thunder could pull off the victory on the road and force a Game 7. But the ball didn’t bounce that way.
Crazy Last minutes of the game
Towards the end of this game, nothing was dropping for Oklahoma City.
They were down 94-91 and kept shooting, grabbing the rebound and trying again. Absolutely nothing would drop. So much, that a timeout was called so they could regroup. Then, on the ensuing in-bounds, Paul George went up for a triple (with contact) that didn’t get called and it threw the Thunder for a whirl. You could tell because they let 16 seconds run off the clock and didn’t immediately foul a Jazz player in crucial moments as time was running out.
They didn’t let the Jazz beat them through free throws and there was not enough time on the clock to give themselves a chance to tie the game.
No other Thunder player besides Steven Adams was in double digits in scoring last night (19 points, 16 rebounds), as Russ had a game-high 46 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. PG13 only had 5 points, while Carmelo Anthony had 7.
On the other side of the ball, Mitchell finished with 38 points and every other starter scored in double digits for the Jazz.
With frustrations high, Westbrook could be seen walking off the court and going off on a fan that was recording him on his phone. After the game at a press conference, Russ spoke on it and why he thinks the shit talking from fans should stop.
Westbrooks speaks on “disrespectful” Jazz fans
There are plenty of questions surrounding the Thunder heading into the offseason, with their roster possibly going through changes by the time next year starts. Will George stay? What is OKC going to do with Melo’s $28M player option? Will Billy Donovan still be coaching next season? What other pieces can the organization surround Westbrook with to help him thrive at his own game.
As far as the Jazz are concerned, they’ve exceeded all expectations and they are one of the most hungry young teams in the league. They’re the present and the future and could give a team a scare as the postseason continues. Of course, that all depends on how healthy Ricky Rubio is going to be heading forward.