Ricky Rubio leads Utah over Oklahoma City: 3 takeaways
By Daniel Lewis
Somewhere, David Kahn is smiling after having watched Ricky Rubio lead a team to a home win in the playoffs.
Ricky Rubio finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 115-102 Jazz victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night, helping Utah take a 2-1 series lead.
Paul George lead Oklahoma City in scoring with 23 points, but their Big Three of Anthony, Adams, and Westbrook went 18 for 43 from the field in a game where the Thunder starters were helpless against the Jazz’s offense.
The Jazz went on a quick 8-0 run early in the first quarter to take a 16-10 lead. The OKC defense tightened up after that, and the Thunder tied the game back up at 20. Westbrook had six points, while Patrick Patterson came off the bench to knock down two 3-pointers, helping OKC take a 30-22 lead after the first quarter.
Steven Adams picked up his third foul of the game after just 10 minutes on the court, struggling again to guard Rudy Gobert without committing a penalty. Patterson continued to play well, helping the ball continue to move on offense as they kept their lead at double digits. Ricky Rubio had a couple nice defensive plays, stealing a handoff from Patterson and then knocking in a midrange jumper on the next offensive possession to cut the deficit to five points with six minutes left in the quarter. The Spanish guard continued to have success on offense, knocking in a couple baskets to ignite the Jazz home crowd and reclaim the lead, 50-49.
The two squads traded baskets back and forth to start the third quarter, with both teams trading blows one with another trying to gain an edge. While Carmelo Anthony couldn’t guard Derrick Favors as a roll man in the pick and roll, Favors struggled to guard Anthony in isolation on the other end of the court. The Jazz went with a smaller lineup to help contain Anthony, leaving just Favors or Gobert on the court, and the decision to go small worked, helping the Jazz space the floor and knock in a couple 3-pointers. Royce O’Neal had a 3-pointer from the wing to stretch the lead to 10 points for the Jazz, and Gobert followed a Felton missed jumper with a dunk to make the score 82-70, prompting the Thunder to call timeout.
The small-ball lineup continued to deliver for the Jazz, while the Thunder had to rely on Paul George to struggle for baskets. The Jazz ended the third quarter on a run capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Rubio to bring the score to 89-75, and the arena erupted as the shot dropped, tying a bow on a 31-22 advantage in the quarter for the home team.
Rubio continued to toy with the Thunder defense in the fourth quarter, knocking down jumpers and finding his teammates in the pick and roll for open baskets. Ingles knocked in a 3-pointer to bring the Jazz score into triple digits, and the Thunder offense began to look fatigued, with players standing with hands on hips while on offense. Surprisingly, repeated attacks on offense via isolation plays by the Thunder weren’t effective, and a 3-pointer by Mitchell increased the lead to 106-86 and that was curtains for Oklahoma City in Game Three. Billy Donovan would bench his starters shortly after that, and the Jazz were able to pick up a 2-1 lead in the series.
Takeaways
The Jazz’s strength is their team. While there are key players on their roster – Mitchell and Gobert – this is a balanced team that can get contributions from different actors each night to help secure a win. Tonight the team gave an opportunity for Ricky Rubio to shine, with the former Timberwolves guard racking up a triple double, outplaying Westbrook on both ends of the court.
But Rubio’s magnificent game wouldn’t be possible without the rest of the team. Gobert’s screening ability creates space for him to operate. Ingles outside shooting keeps a defender from committing fully as a help defender. Mitchell’s trigger from the perimeter and ability to drive and finish keeps his defender pinned to him. Favors physicality creates opportunities for offensive rebounds and open shots inside the paint.
This is a dangerous team when they’re clicking on all cylinders, and they are on the verge of dropping the Thunder’s postseason ambitions into a blender and pulsing them into the offseason.
It’s like Russell Westbrook is trying to redeem Damian Lillard. Maybe Lillard called up Westbrook and was like “hey, from one All-Star to another, we just got bounced by the Pelicans in four, think you can throw up another stinker and take some heat off me? Thanks.” If that’s the case, then tonight is just a case of a friend sticking up for a friend, which is admirable.
If that’s not the case, what is wrong with Westbrook? He’s shooting 36 percent (22 for 61) from the field, 27 percent on 3-point attempts, and he’s averaging just about five turnovers a game. He’s not scoring timely baskets, and he was disengaged for long stretches of the game tonight. He was not a positive difference on defense, and he got beat repeatedly.
I guess it’s not all in vain — he is averaging a triple-double for the series.
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The Jazz are going to be a tough out at home. The homecourt fans have always been good basketball fans, and that arena gets loud when the fans are invested in the outcome of the game. When Rubio and Mitchell were taking the Thunder guards to town, the crowd would erupt. Every Favors or Gobert dunk kept them on their feet, and they provided a spark for the team when they were battling for an edge in the third quarter.
Opposing teams are going to have to play exceptional basketball to overcome the Jazz as is – having the Jazz play at a different level on their home court makes things that much more difficult. The Thunder should adapt to the altitude more in time for Game Four, but they looked exhausted at the end of the game Saturday night. It will be something to keep an eye on the next time both teams take the court against one another.