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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Utah Jazz entered Tuesday's NBA Cup finale already eliminated from the tournament following a 0-3 start in group play.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, needed a win to advance. And the game matched those stakes, for the most part.
Despite more urgency from the home team, Utah rolled into Oklahoma City with an early 19-10 lead thanks to balanced scoring from its starting five.
Things quickly turned after the surprising start, however, and the Thunder closed the first quarter on a 22-6 run to claim a 32-25 lead it would never relinquish.
Oklahoma City leads the NBA in steals per game at 11.6 and racked up 12 takeaways in the first half alone, benefitting from an abysmal 19 turnovers from the Jazz that were tied for the most by a team in a half in the StateMuse database.
OKC scores 27 points off a new Thunder record 19 forced turnovers in a half 🔒 pic.twitter.com/urJt1JlVIH
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 4, 2024
Utah cut its deficit to six, 54-48, thanks to a 15-5 run late in the second quarter, but the Thunder were able to pull away once again for a 62-50 halftime lead.
The Jazz outshot the Thunder 54-52% in the game and finished with six scorers in double digits, but the turnovers were too much to overcome. Collin Sexton, John Collins and Brice Sensabaugh led the way with five turnovers each, while Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier each had four.
Oklahoma City ran away in the second half with a 40-25 third-quarter advantage and held on for a 133-106 win to keep its NBA Cup hopes alive.
Jalen Williams, brother of Utah rookie Cody Williams, was the leading scorer on the night for the Thunder with 28 points. Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each had three steals for a team total of 18 by the end of the night.
Utah dropped to 4-17 on the season and continues its seven-game road trip in Portland on Friday.
