Despite ending a four-game road trip with a loss to Houston on Sunday, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was pleased with his team’s overall performance away from home.
The Thunder will embark on another four-game road stretch later this week, but first, they will make a brief stop back home in Oklahoma City to face the Utah Jazz in an NBA Cup clash on Tuesday.
A win over the Jazz would propel the Thunder to the knockout round of the NBA Cup, provided San Antonio loses to Phoenix later on Tuesday. Oklahoma City is 2-1 entering the final game of West Group B play, while Utah is 0-3.
The Thunder could also advance as a wild card with a win, combined with losses by Portland and Dallas, or by winning one of several tiebreaker scenarios based on group point differential. Currently, Oklahoma City has a +18 point differential.
The Thunder won the first three games of their road trip before a late-game lapse resulted in a 119-116 loss to Houston.
In the final minute of a tied game, Oklahoma City’s star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander forced a tie-up with Dillon Brooks. The Thunder lost the ensuing jump ball, and Brooks scored to give the Rockets a two-point lead. Gilgeous-Alexander missed on the other end, and Oklahoma City took more than 20 seconds before committing a foul.
Houston hit a pair of free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining to go up by two possessions and made two more foul shots after a Thunder three-pointer from Jalen Williams.
Utah is also coming off a narrow loss, falling 105-104 to the visiting Lakers on Sunday after Collin Sexton’s apparent go-ahead layup with 2.1 seconds left was wiped out by a Jazz timeout. Utah has lost four consecutive games and eight of its last nine.
Tuesday’s game could be another learning experience for second-year Jazz point guard Keyonte George.
George struggled defensively when LeBron James was switched onto him in Sunday’s game and had a tough time on offense, finishing with six turnovers. He has had at least five turnovers in four of his last five games.
With Utah prioritizing development this season, it seems unlikely that George’s role will change much for now.
George still leads Utah with 5.7 assists per game and contributes 15.4 points. Lauri Markkanen paces the Jazz with 19.6 points per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30.0 scoring average ranks third in the NBA entering Monday’s action. The seventh-year guard has scored at least 32 points in four straight games and has netted at least 28 in 10 straight contests.
Tuesday’s game is the first of four meetings between the teams this season.
Oklahoma City won three of the four meetings last year.
