Thunder earn their first fourth quarter comeback of the season against Utah

OKC Thunder Best Reserve

This was not a good showing for the Thunder bench. Billy Donovan opted to play four of his reserves tonight yet none were able to eclipse three points. Grant ultimately gets the award because of his importance to start the fourth quarter rally. Donovan opted to go small to start the quarter with the intent of causing havoc on both ends of the floor. Grant’s athleticism at the center position forced Rudy Gobert away from the rim on defense. When the Jazz were on offense they played a college-like trap defense, forcing turnovers that led to easy buckets.

Don;t get it twisted though – the bench has to be much better than it was tonight.

Utah Jazz Best Player

Donovan Mitchell is going to be a star in this league. Playing against two of the best wing defenders in the league, the 21-year old scored 31 points on 50% shooting from the field. He was just as impressive on the defensive end. Mitchell racked up five steals with an in-your-face defense reminiscent of Patrick Beverley. My only knock came in the final few minutes of the game where Mitchell forced a couple contested threes early in the shot clock. He’s young so that’s understandable, but we still have dock him on his report card.

Final Thoughts

As always, we’re jumping right into it.

Steven Adams is the reason this team can cause problems come the Playoff time. The Big Kiwi is simply too athletic for such a large human being – if Adams is able to stay on the court there isn’t a contender who has a player to matchup with him.

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• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

I’m thankful Alex Abrines received the second-most minutes off the bench tonight. I’m not thankful that he stands in the corner every possession. If Abrines’ special talented isn’t utilized there’s no sense of playing him. The Spaniard Sniper has the team’s highest +/- of any rotation player because his mere presence makes teams change their defense. Making him move around the perimeter forces teams to worry about him even more. Why it’s not happening is beyond me.

While it’s fun to get swept in the celebration, we have to address how terrible they looked for most of the game. The Thunder did not deserve to win this game because of how they played for the first 2/3. Once they started to play with a greater purpose, however, their superior talent was too much for Utah. Hopefully when they run back the tape they see the stark difference in not only their play on the court, but their facial expressions and body language.

Billy Donovan lives to see another day.

I still can’t believe they came back to win this game.

Up next for the Thunder is a visit to Mexico City for an out-of-country matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. A win pushes Oklahoma City back to .500 while also giving them their first four-game win streak of the season. If they play that game the way they did the last 16 minutes tonight, they should come out with an easy victory.