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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Jazz handled “Playoff P” last spring.
They didn’t have much success against the mid-December version.
Paul George scored 31 points to lead Oklahoma City to an easy 122-113 win over Utah Monday night at Chesapeake Arena.
It was the first game between the two clubs since the Jazz ousted OKC 4-2 in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Donovan Mitchell predicted on Sunday night that the Thunder would come out with some added energy against Utah. The same type the Jazz had the first time they played Houston.
That prediction was spot on.
The Thunder were active on the defensive end, aggressive on offense and simply overwhelmed the Jazz on Monday. OKC forced 20 Utah turnovers on the night and got hands on a number of other passes.
“We were just alert, locked in, dialed in,” George said. “ ... The effort and energy was there.”
Some of the turnovers were the Thunder making good plays, but a number were the Jazz making poor decisions with the ball. There were times when Utah made errant passes into the paint or got caught in the air or was lazy on handoffs.
“When you turn the basketball over, it is hard to defend against that.” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We didn’t execute. That is what it came down to.”
With the Thunder leading 10-8 in the opening minutes of the first quarter, Rudy Gobert picked up his second foul of the game, sending him to the bench. As Gobert walked off the court, he faked like he was going to hit the scorers table in an ode to his now infamous quick ejection against the Houston Rockets last Thursday. He could joke about that incident because the Jazz ended up winning that game.
Utah didn’t fare so well without their big man on Monday.
The Thunder quickly went on an 8-0 run after Gobert’s second foul. The Jazz’s first quarter was only salvaged by an over half-court heave from Mitchell that found the bottom of the net at the buzzer. That shot, though, didn’t end up meaning much.
As good as the Thunder were to start the game, they were better to start the second half. OKC scored 42 points in the third quarter to take a commanding lead into the fourth quarter. George was the main catalyst to the OKC offense, going 8-for-10 from the field and hitting five 3-pointers.
“Paul George was terrific,” Snyder said. “What he did — there are some things you could do better and there were plays that he made that were big-time plays.”
A number of those plays came in the 3rd quarter when he hit a number of shots that halted would-be Utah runs.
“Finding creases, finding space, freeing my hands to get shots and to get looks,” George said about his offensive performance. “I caught fire and kept going.”
The Thunder led by as many as 29 points in the game, reminding Mitchell of time of Game 5 in the playoffs when OKC went a big 2nd-half run that won the Thunder that game.
“Except it was the whole game,” Mitchell said.
Russell Westbrook finished with just 12 points, but his off night didn't hurt the Thunder. George got plenty of help from Steven Adams, who had 22 points, and Dennis Schroeder, who finished with 23 points.
For the Jazz, the same problems that have popped in many of their lopsided losses were there once again. Utah struggled to shoot the deep ball, going 8-for-29 from the 3-point line. The Jazz struggled taking care of the ball, finishing with 20 turnovers. And they struggled to defend in transition and pretty much everywhere else, allowing the Thunder to shoot over 50 percent from the field.
The Jazz drop to 13-15 on the season.
Mitchell led Utah with 19 points. Gobert finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.
Utah returns home on Wednesday to play the Miami Heat.
