The Utah Jazz had a chokehold on Game 5 during the first half before falling victim to an Oklahoma City Thunder avalanche in the third quarter, as Russell Westbrook and Paul George took over, mounting a 25-point comeback and taking the game 107-99.
Head coach Quin Snyder warned that even in the playoffs, no lead is safe with players of their caliber.
“Well, I think a 25-, 20-point lead in the NBA is not safe, especially when you’ve got two guys like Russell (Westbrook) and Paul George that can do what they did,” Snyder said post-game, according to Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. “I thought the two threes that Westbrook hit were big shots, and then Paul George followed up with a three-point play, and all of a sudden a 25-point lead is a 16-point lead and they found some rhythm.”
George and Westbrook scored or assisted in 32-straight points in the third quarter, combining for 79 points in the game between them.
This took place as the Jazz flatlined in the last two quarters, surprisingly coming after a shutdown second quarter, where they limited the Thunder to 12 points.
“They made adjustments and we didn’t adjust as a unit to continue to get shots, not for myself but for our team period,” forward Jae Crowder said, leading the team with 27 points off the bench. “When they went on the run, we didn’t get looks that we wanted to get down the stretch.”
With the series at 3-2, the Jazz will have a chance to wrap up the series at home on Friday, so long as they do the things they've been able to do after winning three straight from Games 2 to 4.
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