This is the new version of the Game Thread. This is the Live Thread. You’re still able to overreact in the comments, claim that Tim Duncan was a center, and that Karl Malone was the best Power Forward of all-time; only now you can get live game updates from pregame to Postgame with everything in between.

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4th Quarter

Utah Jazz 115 - Oklahoma City Thunder - 102

Wow. If you could go back in time, who would have dreamed that Ricky Rubio would be the one carrying the Utah Jazz to a win, let alone a home playoff game in April? Ricky Rubio has worked so hard this season to improve his jump shot, adjust to Quin Snyder’s offense and play with so much heart. There’s no way Utah could ever trade this man. Build the statue. I want that man-bun in bronze. Ricky Rubio’s stat line: 26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 block on 50% shooting from the field. It’s the first triple double since John Stockton that has occurred in the playoffs. Sidenote: John Stockton didn’t get the win in that game.

Donovan Mitchell spent significant time on the bench while in foul trouble, yet OKC never could take advantage. They were suffering from Steven Adams, once again, being in foul trouble. Royce O’Neale played some monster minutes from the bench. Joe Ingles FINALLY got going again and found his groove. He had 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting while hitting 50% of his threes. He added 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

While Derrick Favors was a monster presence down low last night, Rudy Gobert feasted with Steven Adams warming the pine. Rudy Gobert had 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. He hit 6 of his 8 free throws which is huge for the french big man. Derrick Favors was equally big as he had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists while providing the Jazz with a +/- of +26 while on the court. What Favors provides sometimes isn’t going to show up on the stat sheet.

This game is absolutely huge. Now OKC only has a couple days to get their house in order before having to face Utah again on Monday. With a win, Utah would be have a 3-1 series lead heading back to OKC. Need we remind everyone that the Utah Jazz are one of the league’s best road teams since January? Actually the best road team since January. Oklahoma City’s current core is staring down the end of the barrel right now. Last year the Utah Jazz were the catalyst for the Los Angeles Clippers blowing up their team. This year, as an encore, they could be doing the same thing to Oklahoma City. If the Thunder lose in the 1st round to Utah, it could spell the end to Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony in OKC.

10:33pm. Wow. Wow. The Jazz just destroyed the Thunder. The crowd was incredible, and we didn’t have to pump in any noise. Gobert got 18 points on 8 shots! Ricky Rubio got a triple-double! Donovan Mitchell played like he’s been there five or six times. Incredible. What a fun game. See you guys on Monday. -DWest

10:29pm. So can David Stockton check in? Please? As I write this, looks like he’s gonna check in. AWESOME. -DWest

10:27pm. As of now, the Jazz are +88 when my fiancée watches with me. -DWest

10:22pm. Ricky Rubio gets his triple double. He’s the first Jazz man to get a triple double since Carlos Boozer in 2008. He got one with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 steals in a not playoff game. Last Jazz player to get a triple double in the playoffs? - Mychal

10:20pm. Never forget that someone at Air Jordan thought this commercial was a good idea. lol. Love seeing Carmelo Anthony getting toasted in the playoffs. - Mychal

10:18pm. So are all the laundromats in Oklahoma City $0.75 laundromats? Because it seems hard to believe that anyone there has a 4th quarter. - DWest

10:17pm. If Joe Ingles is playing well, this Jazz offense is a buzz saw. OKC is in trouble. - Mychal

10:16pm. LAWLER’S LAW! I’m not sure I wouldn’t hate Joe Ingles if he were playing against the Jazz. He is a master of trash talk. -DWest

10:12pm. Please get that last foul on Adams. Please. Also, I wonder if Joe should guard PG instead of Spida. Not that Donovan has been doing a bad job, but he’s in foul trouble and we need him on offense. -DWest

10:11pm. Danger. Danger. - Mychal

10:09pm. That non-call on Adams was yuge, y’all. Goodbye, fingernails. -DWest

10:08pm. The OKC Thunder are going on their run. You knew it was going to happen. Can Utah withstand it with their starters resting? - Mychal

10:06pm. THAT WAS A FOUL YOU OVERLY HAIRY IDIOT NEANDERTHAL. Not you, Steven Adams. The Ref. Also, Pushoff P chants are glorious. -DWest

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3rd Quarter

Utah Jazz 89 - Oklahoma City 75

Ricky Rubio. What more can be said about this man? He’s got 22 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals with only 2 turnovers. What a game he’s having. He’s going to have to go the distance along with Rudy Gobert. Steven Adams will be able to be more aggressive in the fourth quarter. Paul George looked like he was going to shift into Playoff P then Quin Snyder called a timeout and put that run on ice.

Joe Ingles now has 13 points and filled in admirably for Donovan when the Jazz needed a secondary ball handler. Royce played some solid minutes. Crowder and Exum STRUGGLED in those final minutes. I don’t think we see Jerebko again. Jazz might go all starters down the stretch with slight rest. Here we go.

10:01pm. Rubio, Rubio, RU-BI-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!! RU-BI-OOOOOH! -DWest

10:01pm. Come on, boys. Go at Adams. -DWest

9:59pm. Exum had some rough minutes there. Raymond Felton is testing the referees whistle on Exum. So far he’s getting away with a lot. That’s not going to stop so Exum needs to expect it. - Mychal

9:58pm. Quick 5-0 spurt from OKC. Jazz need a stop. -DWest

9:56pm. Utah is on a big time run right now. I’m digging this. Donovan coming into the 4th quarter with Utah having a good lead would be huge. Let him play free. - Mychal

9:53pm. This lineup makes me anxious, but OKC’s lineup should make them more anxious. They’re playing a bunch of spare parts. But here comes PG13 as I write this. -DWest

9:52pm. I’m still nervous. But this game has been FUN. I’m with you, Billy Donovan has one more shot to make a run. Going small is not going to work again, (right?) and they literally can’t go big. I think they have to rely on iso Westbrook and iso Playoff P, which hasn’t worked either, but you never know. -DWest

9:50pm. Act normal. Act normal. Act normal. This happens all the time. This is normal. OMG CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS GAME??? That Exum dumpoff to Gobert? O’Neale and Ingles hitting their threes? Ricky Rubio almost has a triple double! And that crowd, man. Jazz need to attack that rim every damn play to get that 5th foul on Adams. I don’t know what Billy Donovan is doing. He might see this as a possible kill shot for Utah if they don’t do something quick. - Mychal

9:48pm. Adams is hamstrung. He can’t fight for rebounds like he usually does. -DWest

9:47pm. If Rubio gets any more fouls we may need to resort to Neto. Those Exum minutes were...suboptimal. Edit: That play was good. Breathe. -DWest

9:45pm. RELEASE THE ALEKRAKEN!!!! jk. Don’t. Just don’t. - Mychal

9:43pm. Please don’t tell me that we need Alec Burks right now. We don’t. (Sorry Alec. I will never forgive Paul Pierce. Never.) -DWest

9:42pm.

-DWest

9:42pm. Donovan picked up his 4th foul. We’re in the danger zone. LANA!!!!!! - Mychal

9:41pm. You know my feelings on Crown Burger. I’d prefer a Taqueria 27 taco and guac any day. Also, check this. - Mychal

9:39pm. Bear brought the commentators Iceberg and Sweet Treats. 2/10 NEEDS MOAR Crown Burger. -

DWest

9:39pm. Now check out Donovan Mitchell owning Russell Westbrook. - Mychal

9:38pm. First, check out this breakdancing move from Rudy.

9:35pm. I was holding my breath because I was worried he was hurt for a split-second. -DWest

9:35pm. This is huge. Did you see that Rudy Gobert breakdance move? lolol. The OKC Thunder are sitting on a powder keg right now. Utah could break this wide open if they execute. - Mychal

9:34pm. Adams has four fouls. This is not a drill. And he’s MAD. Jazz must capitalize. -DWest

9:33pm. Donovan Mitchell getting his three point shot going again would be a huge development in this series. - Mychal

9:28pm. After we complained about the free throw disparity, then the Jazz started getting to the line. 7 free throws. - Mychal

9:26pm. This Utah Jazz crowd is nuts. - Mychal

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2nd Quarter

Utah Jazz 58 - Oklahoma City Thunder 53

Before I get to the actual game on the court. Let’s talk about that crowd. MY GOODNESS. I mean, my goodness. That is just insane. I’m in love. That’s 96-97 Finals run worthy. It’s loud, crazy, and completely invested in this team. The ESPN halftime crew is giving the Utah Jazz crowd serious props.

Ricky Rubio is Old Takes Exposing all of us who said the Jazz might be looking to trade him or have Exum start over him in December. Ricky Rubio has 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists with only 2 turnovers. The Jazz were struggling and Ricky Rubio has completely gone full conquistador. The Jazz crowd was chanting: Rubio, Rubio, Rubio.

For Utah to win this game, they’re going to need a much better half from their bench. Take a look at their starters and every single one of them has a positive +/-. Their bench? Jae Crowder has a -12, O’Neale has a -3, Exum -7, and Jerebko -6. That can’t happen again. They can’t allow themselves to rely on Rubio or Mitchell heroics in the playoffs every game. Gotta sustain this momentum.

Remember when we said Utah needed some offensive rebounds? Utah then pulled down 6. Giving them some much needed second chance opportunities. OKC is still shooting 52.6% from the field in this game. Defensive adjustments must be made because Utah is a defensive team first. We’ll see what Quin has up his sleeve. Also, Quin has to get Donovan going. He has 7 points right now. He seems due for an explosion. One positive sign is Joe Ingles has 8 points already. He’s been missing in prior games.

9:13pm. The dust settles, and Ricky Rubio has led the Jazz on a 25-8 run. Unbelievable. I was Mr. “Trade Ricky Rubio for a can of tuna” guy back in December. Report me to Old Takes Exposed on Twitter, haha. -DWest

9:10pm. John Stockton Ricky Rubio is having an amazing first half. Also, can this crowd get behind this type of chant? - Mychal

9:10pm. Jordan Paul George keeps pushing off. -DWest

9:08pm. I’m talking myself into my Ekpe sub idea. OKC is struggling to match Utah’s size. -DWest

9:07pm. Rick Rubio has 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. It’s the second quarter. My goodness. Is Ricky our best player? Survey says ... you’re damn right. - Mychal

9:04pm. Every time I go to criticize Rubio’s 3pt shooting it’s like he can hear me. Also, I hope that his flopping doesn’t anger the Basketball Gods too much. Probably cancelled out by...Corey Brewer forgetting which huddle to go to? Weird. -DWest

9:04pm. OMG RICKY RUBIO. HE’S THE SPANISH CONQUISTADOR. THE POWER OF THE MAN BUN. - Mychal

9:01pm. The Utah Jazz are clawing their way back in this. Their offense just looks out of sorts. How does their offense just look unstoppable in the first 5 minutes of every game in this series than devolve into what looks like your best friend playing NBA2K for the first time? - Mychal

8:58pm. Update: I’m not writing my paper. Also, if 83-year-old Carmelo Anthony just intercepted your pass, your pass was bad and you should feel bad. -DWest

8:55pm. Well, you are crazy, but not in the Jazz having to adjust. It looks like Utah is clamping down on defense now. Ever since that last timeout, the Jazz are more crisp on the defensive end. It seems they’ve figured out this Oklahoma Tiny lineup. Now they need the offense to match. - Mychal

8:53pm. I think it might be smart to play Ekpe Udoh for a few minutes when Gobert goes out. We need that paint protection. Am I crazy? -DWest

8:53pm. Jerry Sloan wasn’t wearing a playoff shirt. But he’s forgiven. - Mychal

8:51pm. Well. I guess John Stockton can have a pass for not wearing the shirt. Shoot, Jerry too. -DWest

8:51pm. This move from Donovan. - Mychal

8:49pm. I was wondering the same thing, but a zone is so dangerous when the other team has Carmelo Anthony Russell Westbrook and Paul “Lame Nickname” George -DWest

8:48pm. This 5 out lineup of Billy Donovan is killing Utah. Quin has to find the counter to this and quick. Do the Jazz dare go to a zone? - Mychal

8:45pm. Good to see Mitchell back in. Jazz have been running their offensive possessions late into the shot clock, and he’s the only one who can finish consistently when he has to get buckets. - DWest

8:44pm. Steven Adams has three fouls. This is big for Utah. Utah will need to punish this small lineup of OKC’s with Patterson at the 5. And as I type this, Utah gets an offensive rebound. - Mychal

8:43pm. The Utah Jazz don’t have a single free throw. It’s the second quarter. This is not a good trend. - Mychal

8:37pm. Okay, let’s not try that last lineup again. Jerebko and Crowder should not be on the floor together.

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1st Quarter

Utah Jazz 22 - Oklahoma City 30

The Utah Jazz got out to a quick lead over the Thunder behind good teamwork and execution. Then Oklahoma City punched back. The referees aren’t calling the physicality underneath the rim like they did last game. Utah is going to need to adjust. The Jerebko/Crowder combination was just daring the Thunder to go on a run. The Utah Jazz aren’t getting any offensive rebounds. They need those second chance points and need to draw some fouls. - Mychal

8:34pm. I’m not liking the referees calling that garbage shooting foul on the perimeter. Russ jumped right into Exum. - Mychal

8:33pm. Hey Jazz. Please make layups. -DWest

8:28pm. I wonder how Quin is going to counter Patrick Patterson at the 5. The Thunder are really wanting to pull Gobert out of the center. Might be time to do Billy Donovan some Favors. Derrick Favors. - Mychal

8:26pm. I’ll definitely take 2 fouls on Corey Brewer, who just flopped three times on one possession. - DWest

8:24pm. He totally flopped. lolol. How did Corey Brewer hit that three? Also, can Utah play all their games in home in these colors? I’m in love. - Mychal

8:22pm. Ricky Rubio flopped there, IMO. Also, please give me more Carmelo vs. Favs matchups. - DWest

8:19pm.

-DWest

8:18pm. Inject this game into my veins. Holy cow is this so much fun. Paul George has had a few open looks from beyond the arc, though. That Donovan Mitchell three almost made the crowd take the roof off of this game. Welcome to the real Loud City. Utah is channeling the old Decibel Center. - Mychal

8:16pm. Good to see Carmelo getting shots. I hope it continues. -DWest

8:15pm. I like what I’m seeing from Utah early. I want to see more of this TIFO flag on the broadcast. I’m in love with it. - Mychal

8:13. It’s smart of Westbrook and the Thunder to go at Gobert early and often. They’re trying to give him the Steven Adams treatment. - DWest

8:12pm. LET’S GO! - Mychal

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Pregame

8:07pm. Currently debating if I should drop the pretense of working on my final college paper ever or just watch some basketball. Nervous for this one, but I wish I had the $200 in the budget to attend. Last year it was only $90 for uppers. - DWest

8:04pm. The Utah Jazz tifo returns. I love how Utah embraces the soccer fandom in SLC. - Mychal

7:56pm. Get your rally buns going! - Mychal

7:51pm. The shirts with this crowd are going to be amazing. Going to look epic on tv. - Mychal

7:46pm. LOLOLOLOL look at KAT troll James Harden!!!! LOLOLOL

7:39pm. Right now the Minnesota Timberwolves have a 12 point lead on the Houston Rockets. Nothing makes sense. Pelicans are sweeping Trail Blazers, LeBron is down 2-1, sophomores are rookies. Up is down. Down is up. Dogs are endorsing us. - Mychal

7:31pm. I am ALL in on this salt. Also, Ricky Rubio showing up to the game wearing a Friends sweatshirt is my everything. - Mychal

7:24pm. Get yourself caught up on some good articles on the Dunk the last couple days. Diana Allen wrote on how Derrick Favors has been the engine powering this resurgent Jazz squad. There’s a story about Igor Kokoskov possibly getting poached by the Phoenix Suns. Andy Bailey had his debut article today that focused in on the fallacy of Donovan Mitchell shooting too much. I also did some hard hitting journalism by finding if Ricky Rubio plays better with a man bun or without one. - Mychal

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Game Info:

When: Saturday, Apr. 21, 2018 •8 PM MT

Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

TV: ESPN, AT&T Sports Net - Rocky Mountain

Radio: 1280 AM/97.5 FM The Zone

Injuries:

Utah Jazz:

Thabo Sefolosha - knee - out for season

Oklahoma City Thunder:

Andre Roberson - knee - out for season

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Ground Rules

Welcome to the SLC Dunk Live Thread. This is new as we’ll have game updates throughout it. Dunkers know how this thing works, but for you lurkers ready to make the jump to Dunker, we have a few guidelines. Remember to follow our community guidelines (no swearing, trolling, excessive use of Jerry Sloan’s name in vain, no personal attacks, no debates about Utah liquor laws, etc.). Remember to have fun. Anyone who dare blasphemes that Tim Duncan was a Power Forward or John Stockton is not the best point guard of all-time will receive an automatic ban. Just kidding. But seriously.