Thunder vs. Jazz takeaways: OKC routs Utah in road finale, controls own NBA play-in fate

SALT LAKE CITY — Sam Presti stood outside of the Thunder’s locker room at halftime, and as players filed out one by one for the second half, Presti gave them a slap on the butt and words of encouragement.

Presti hasn’t gone on many road trips this season, but the Thunder general manager was in San Francisco on Tuesday and in Salt Lake City on Thursday for the Thunder’s biggest game of the season. It wasn’t quite a must-win, but the closest thing to it in OKC’s play-in pursuit.

It wasn’t pretty, or particularly convincing, but it was a win — and that’s all the Thunder needed.

OKC beat Utah 114-98, which means the Thunder (39-42) can clinch a play-in berth if it beats Memphis on Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City. It’ll be the play-in to the play-in. The Thunder can also clinch if the Mavericks lose to the Bulls on Friday.

“If you asked me if I’d want to be in this position at the beginning of the year, I’d tell you yes,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

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Had the Thunder lost to the Jazz, OKC would have ceded control of its destiny to Dallas.

You could feel the urgency of the situation, particularly after the Jazz closed the first half on a 14-2 run.

“The game kind of got rough at the end of the second, the scoreboard got tight at halftime, and we leaned back on our defense, leaned back on our standards,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

The Thunder delivered what looked like a series of knockout blows as it went on a 14-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter into the early minutes of the fourth quarter to build an 18-point lead.

But the Jazz didn’t quit. Utah responded with a 7-0 run to slash OKC’s lead to 11.

Aaron Wiggins stopped the slide by nailing a corner 3-pointer with eight minutes left.

Then Josh Giddey hit a 3-pointer on OKC’s next possession. Gilgeous-Alexander clenched his fists when the ball swished through the net.

“We know that we can control our own destiny with this next basketball game … That’s all we’re focused on,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Added Giddey: “We know the job that we need to do, and we’ll be ready for Memphis.”

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sets tone

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stuck to Jazz rookie Ochai Agbaji like a magnet clings to steel.

Agbaji was mercifully released from SGA’s vise grip when Gilgeous-Alexander poked the ball out of Agbaji’s hands and out of bounds.

That was a first-quarter possession, by the way. It would’ve been forgettable had SGA not exerted such noticeable effort early in the game.

It wasn’t SGA’s night offensively, particularly in the first half, but Gilgeous-Alexander set a tone befitting the big moment.

He scored 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting — his lowest-scoring game in almost three months and an uncharacteristically inefficient one at that. He also missed three of his 10 free throw attempts.

The Jazz junked up the game by doubling SGA and playing zone, which closed off some of the cracks he often finds.

It wasn’t all bad for SGA, though, as he had seven rebounds and seven assists against just one turnover.

Gilgeous-Alexander played 35 games two seasons ago and 56 last season. Sunday will be his 68th game of the season, his most since the 2019-20 season. While SGA has looked tired at times, or playing through injury at others, he said he feels good.

“The more basketball we play the better,” SGA said. “We got a group of guys that love the game. Playing meaningful basketball is the best feeling, the best time of the year.”

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Aaron Wiggins leads Thunder bench

Aaron Wiggins picked off a late pass and paid off the steal with a two-handed slam.

Wiggins played football growing up, and he looked like a cornerback grabbing a pick-six.

“The fastbreak I got at the end, I was super excited,” Wiggins said. “I didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘Should I windmill?’ Because I don’t get many of those.”

Wiggins scored 15 points off the Thunder’s bench. He had four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“I thought Wiggs’ minutes tonight were awesome,” Giddey said. “Defensively, he was great. Offensively, he plays such a simple game, but is so effective for us. When Wiggs is at his best, on both ends of the floor, it takes our team to another level.”

Daigneault stuck with a nine-man rotation before emptying the bench with 90 seconds left.

“I usually have nine in mind and then introduce different guys if the game calls for it,” Daigneault said. “That wasn’t a deviation.”

Led by Wiggins, the core four bench players all scored in double digits. Dario Saric had 14 points, Isaiah Joe had 11 and Lindy Waters III had 10.

The Thunder’s bench outscored the Jazz’s bench 50-27, a dominant yet expected advantage given how many rotation players the Jazz was down.

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Off-beat Jazz

The Thunder’s first game after the All-Star break was at Utah. The Jazz won 120-119 in overtime after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game winning attempt bounced off the backboard and in and out of the rim.

Lauri Markkanen had 43 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Jazz that night. Rookie center Walker Kessler had 18 rebounds and seven blocks. Guard Jordan Clarkson had 24 points and six assists.

Markkanen (left hand contusion), Kessler (concussion protocol) and Clarkson (finger sprain) were all out Thursday night against the Thunder.

Collin Sexton (left hamstring), Rudy Gay (back) and Talen Horton-Tucker (left ankle) were also out for the Jazz.

Utah started Kris Dunn, Ochai Agbaji, Luka Samanic, Kelly Olynyk and Udoka Azubuike.

“We know that teams that have players out, new guys will see the floor, and they’re gonna be hungry guys,” Thunder guard Isaiah Joe said before the game. “They’re gonna play with a lot of energy, they’re gonna play with nothing to lose. Those teams are dangerous if you underestimate them, so that’s exactly what we’re not gonna do.”

The Thunder learned its lesson after losses to the tanking Hornets and Pacers last week.

“This is great for us, being in this situation where you’re at the end of the season and these games have significant weight,” Daigneault said before the game. “We’re learning a lot about ourselves, we’re learning a lot about our players and we’re learning a lot of lessons along the way — positive and negative.”

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Thunder tip-ins

- Dario Saric’s technical against the Warriors on Tuesday was rescinded, the league announced Wednesday.

- Aleksej Pokusevski (left knee contusion) remained out for the Thunder. Daigneault said Pokusevski’s knee injury isn’t related to his previous left leg injury.

- The Thunder had lost its last four games in Salt Lake City before snapping that streak Thursday.

- The Thunder won the season series 3-1.

- The Thunder shot 15-of-45 from 3-point range. The Jazz shot a ghastly 5-of-31 (16%).

- Utah outscored OKC 66-46 in paint points.

- OKC outscored Utah 24-10 in second-chance points.

- Lu Dort shot 1-of-7 and only played 19 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder beats Utah Jazz, remains in NBA play-in tournament picture