Upper Bowl Jazz Fan

Jazz squeak by Thunder in OT for #2 in the West – 4/6/10

// April 7th, 2010 // Game Summary

Ok, let’s get this out of the way.  Kevin Durant is a pretty good basketball player.  What…that’s it.  Was there something else?

Seriously though, I’ve been saying this since the beginning of the 2008-2009 season.  Kevin Durant will be as good or better than Kobe Bryant. Last night was evidence that he is so very close to that point already.  Did I mention that he is 21 years old.

Oh, and yeah, he got fouled on that 3 point shot last night.  Tough cookies OKC.  Remember when we played you on New Years’ Eve and Paul Millsap got called for breathing on Nick Collison and he sunk 2 free throws that won the game for you guys?  Karma comes around.

I saw some interesting Tweets about that last shot that are worth sharing:

@KelubOnSports Keep in mind, the Jazz lost a CHAMPIONSHIP because refs don’t call fouls at the end of big games.

@johnhollinger Note to Kevin Garnett: Michael Jordan gets that call.

In a way, Michael Jordan DID get that call because he wasn’t whistled for an offensive foul against Bryon Russell.

Anyways, what a thrilling game!  The final score was 140-139.  The score of that New Year’s Eve game was 87-86.  Quite the different game.

A career high of 42 points from Deron Williams and 45 points from Kevin Durant made sure that the score would be run up.

Even in the 1st quarter, DWill had a chip on his shoulder that said, “there is no way that I’ll let my team lose this game.”  He didn’t.

Williams only had one turnover which came in the last minute or so when his pass was stolen and returned for an easy layup and you could see that DWill was kicking himself for it.  He missed a potential game-winning shot with just a couple seconds left at the end of regulation and when he had the chance again in OT he wasn’t going to miss again.

Boozer couldn’t find rhythm in the first half but someone finished very well with 28 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists (including the one to the game-winner), 2 steals, and no fouls. Couldn’t believe he didn’t foul anyone ever.  It might have something to do with Collison and Kristic being semi non-factors on offense.

I kept feeling like Boozer should have dominated the Thunder’s frontcourt but Nick Collison’s defense is not to be underrated.  He didn’t shut Booze down completely but I was surprised and his effectiveness.

My love-hate relationship with CJ Miles found plenty of ammunition for both sides towards CJ’s performance in this game.  He was virtually invisible for the 1st half.  He contributed more in the 2nd but also hurt the Jazz more as well.  He shot only 42% from the field but one was a big 3 pointer in the final minutes of the game.  4 turnovers added some pain.  Oh, and don’t forget about fouling Durant on the last play of the game and receiving a gift from the basketball gods by not getting called for the foul.

What’s tough is this is the first game of a back-to-back for the Jazz and after playing SO hard they face the Rockets less than 24 hours after finishing this game.  AND, everyone pushed themselves so hard (especially Deron Williams) combined with arriving in the middle of the night in Houston, this next game will be tough…to say the least.