Jazz Suffer Heartbreaking Loss To Thunder In Double OT

OKLAHOMA CITY, O.K. – In a back-and-forth game, the Utah Jazz suffer a heartbreaking loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder as Paul George hit the game-winning shot in double-overtime.

Donovan led the Jazz with 38 points on 14-of-35 shooting from the field. Derrick Favors had a great game with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks on 10-for-11 shooting. Rudy Gobert added 26 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jae Crowder scored 20 points off the bench.

Paul George exploded with 45 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Russell Westbrook poured in 43 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists.

Jazz Start Strong

Mitchell didn’t seem to have any rust from the All-Star break to start the game as he went 4-for-4 from the field for 11 of the Jazz’ first 21 points to lead by 6 with 6 minutes left in the opening quarter.

The Thunder came back to tie the game before Russell Westbrook was assessed a flagrant foul on Rudy Gobert.

The second year star for the Jazz finished the first quarter with 14 points but they trailed 35-34 at the end of the period.

From that point, Westbrook and Paul George lifted the Thunder to a 66-57 halftime lead. The Thunder star duo had 34 combined points. Mitchell finished the first 24 minutes with 21 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the three-point line.

Back-And-Forth Second Half

It was a slow start to the second half for the Jazz as they trailed by double digits before making a run to cut the lead to six with seven minutes left in the quarter.

Mitchell hit a 20-foot jumper as time expired to give the Jazz a 95-93 lead at the end of the third quarter. Westbrook was very productive for Oklahoma City with 17 points in just the third period.

Utah opened the fourth quarter on a 12-4 run to push their lead to 10 with 8 minutes left.

Oklahoma City countered with an 8-0 run that was sparked by three-pointers by George and Westbrook.

After the timeout, George nailed another triple after Mitchell scored a layup to stop the run.

With the game tied at 124 with one minute left, Mitchell scored a layup on Tony Ferguson to take the lead with 48 seconds left.

The Thunder tied the game once again when Ricky Rubio hit a big three-pointer. Jerami Grant tied the game after getting fouled on a made basket.

Mitchell’s potential game winning shot was blocked and Westbrook missed the game winner and the game went to overtime.

Overtime Periods

Utah had a one point lead in overtime with 1:09 left when Jae Crowder took a charge on Westbrook, giving the Thunder superstar his sixth foul.

With 17 seconds left in the extra period, Gobert tied the game and blocked Dennis Shroder on the other end.

Mitchell’s jump shot to win the game was missed and both teams would play another overtime period.

In double overtime, both teams exchanged scores, but George shot a floater in the lane and put the Thunder up by one with 0.8 seconds left. Kyle Korver missed the potential game-winning shot.

PAUL GEORGE FOR THE @OKCTHUNDER WIN IN DOUBLE OT!

Final in Oklahoma City:#ThunderUp 148#TeamIsEverything 147 pic.twitter.com/gXtsI87tU3

— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2019

💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/5xYSbobKTW

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 23, 2019

Dunk Tracker

Rudy Gobert is on track to beat Dwight Howard’s record for the most dunks in a single season with 269 in the 2007-08 season.

Gobert entered the night with a second-highest mark in the league with 201 dunks and added 3 more slams to put his total at 204.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo entered Friday night in first-place with 211 dunks this season.

Up Next

Utah dropped to 32-26 on the season and have lost two straight. They will face the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Dallas is 26-32 on the season and have lost three straight. The Jazz are 2-1 this season against the Mavericks.