Jazz Look To Snap 10-Year Losing Streak In Oklahoma City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will look to snap a 10-year regular season road losing streak in Oklahoma City when they travel to face the Thunder on Monday. The Jazz last win in Oklahoma City came on Halloween night 2010 before losing 17 in a row heading into this season.

Paul Millsap spearheaded the Jazz last road win against the Thunder with a mammoth 30 point, 16 rebound, 6 assist outing in 2010. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 28 points.

The Jazz last opportunity to notch a win on the road against the Thunder came on March 11 but was canceled just minutes before tip-off as Rudy Gobert became the first NBA player to publically test positive for COVID-19.

Gobert’s positive test sent professional sports across the world into a tailspin amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The @UtahJazz and Oklahoma City Thunder have postponed their game tonight. –@KSLSportshttps://t.co/xEPsH2kQ29

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 12, 2020

Bounce Back Opportunity For Jazz At Oklahoma City

The Jazz suffered a 116-111 loss in their home opener Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After a blowout win on the road against Portland to open the season, the Jazz were punched in the mouth by the aggressive Timberwolves roster and ultimately dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out of.

The Jazz trimmed Minnesota’s 17 point lead to just three in the final seconds of the game, but a five-second violation by Bojan Bogdanovic as the Jazz forward tried to inbound the ball seeled the team’s fate.

The @utahjazz offensive attack failed on four fronts in the team's home opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. #TakeNote https://t.co/Knh2XZ8lYU

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 27, 2020

Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell combined to shoot just 9-39 from the floor while scoring 30 total points, 14 shy of their nightly average last season.

Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz in scoring with 23 points off the bench.

New Look Thunder

The Thunder were involved in one of the biggest blockbuster moves of the offseason sending future Hall of Fame guard Chris Paul to the Phoenix in exchange for draft capital.

Oklahoma City had a surprisingly strong season last year after trading All-Star guard Russell Westbrook for Paul but took steps towards a more complete rebuild during the shortened offseason.

Despite trading Paul, the Thunder roster showed off its depth in their season-opening win against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Déjà vu ‼️

Put @George_Hill3 on repeat. #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/oPGjVF0Cva

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 27, 2020

Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 24 points, while former Jazzman George Hill scored 21 points on 8-9 shooting in his debut. The Thunder acquired Hill in a trade that sent longtime franchise cornerstone Steven Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans on draft night.

Young wings Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley each scored 15 for Oklahoma City in Saturday’s win.

Key Matchup

The key matchup between the Jazz and the Thunder will pit Mitchell against Gilgeous-Alexander. The two high-scoring combo guards are key to their teams’ success both as scorers and playmakers.

Mitchell leads the Jazz in scoring at 20.5 points while dishing out 5.0 assists per contest. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder on their only game this season scoring 24 points while handing out nine assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander hit the game-winning 21-foot jump shot against the Hornets on Saturday to give the team a 109-107 victory.

Game on the line. #ThunderUp | @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/v8gtOghMeJ

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 27, 2020

The Thunder’s season opener against the Houston Rockets was postponed last Wednesday after too many Rockets were forced to sit out of the game due to COVID-19 exposure.

The Jazz and Thunder tip-off in Oklahoma City at 6 pm MT. The game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.