The Oklahoma City Thunder live to fight another day after eking out a 107-99 come-from-behind win in Game 5 on Wednesday. What that means is that they have chance to tie the series against the Utah Jazz this Friday in Salt Lake City. Read on for preview of Game 6 of this playoffs series.
Guess who just came back from the brink of extinction? Why, the Thunder of course. Down by as many as 25 points in Game 5, the Thunder went on a killer run that turned brought the team back to life from a 71-46 deficit. Russell Westbrook finally showed his MVP form in this series, as he scored 33 points after the halftime in Game 5. This is the kind of Brodie that will have to show up late in games for the Thunder against an unforgiving defensive team like Utah. Overall, Westbrook delivered 45 points, while Paul George had 34 markers. As for Carmelo Anthony, you can forget about him, as he only had seven points in 25 minutes on the floor. With a newfound confidence and lease on life, expect the Thunder to come out roaring in Game 6, but whether they could sustain their aggression for an entire game is something that we’ll all have to wait and see this Friday. OKC is 4-4 ATS in its last eight games in Salt Lake City.
Betting on the Utah Jazz (-6)
The Jazz simply let over-complacency get the best of them in Game 5. If they did not relax, it’s unlikely for Oklahoma City to pull off a miracle. That has happened, though, so now, the Jazz will just have to make sure to limit the mistakes they had on Wednesday. Utah committed 16 turnovers in Game 5, five more than what they totaled a game prior. They also have to make wiser decisions in their shot-making, as Utah shot just 40.7 percent from the field in Game 5. Donovan Mitchell went only 9-for-22 and finished with 23 points. Rubio was only 4-for-14 from the floor but was great in other areas as he had 12 rebounds and seven assists. A positive take-away from that game for Utah was Jae Crowder’s 27-point explosion. Crowder is not going to score that many each night, but his performance Wednesday could be a sign that he’ll be providing better offensive numbers next time. The Jazz are 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four home games.
