In what seemed like more of a brawl than a basketball game, the Utah Jazz fought their way to a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
You knew this was going to be a fight before it even started when Russell Westbrook said he would shut Ricky Rubio’s s*** down. Westbrook came at Rubio right from the tip off but Rubio was unfazed. He let the game come to him and found open shooters while also getting Westbrook in early foul trouble. The Spanish Samurai was calm amidst the storm.
Joe Ingles made life miserable for Paul George again and for three games has significantly lessened his impact. Ingles hit big shots and managed the offense for large parts of the game. Ingles might also be the greatest basketball player that ever lived. I’m yet to see a statistic that makes me believe otherwise.
Rudy Gobert was dominant again. Unlike games two and three, this game Steven Adams wasn’t in foul trouble. It didn’t matter. Rudy was everywhere and kept Westbrook in check again. The Thunder have no answers for Gobert and it has shown all series. Beating Utah means overcoming Gobert four times. It’s what makes the Jazz so difficult in the playoffs and the reason Utah almost never loses two games in a row.
Donovan Mitchell: 33 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and another playoff victory.
