Jazz at Thunder
Oklahoma City star forward Paul George is expected to be on the court when the Thunder host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round series. George sat out the final 62 seconds of his stellar Game 1 outing due to hip pain and his status is slated to be officially firmed up after the mid-day shootaround.
George scored 36 points and made an Oklahoma City franchise playoff-record eight 3-pointers as the Thunder posted a 116-108 victory on Sunday. "When he's aggressive, man, it changes the game for us," Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook told reporters. "You saw that. He had it going. Our job is to make sure we find him, make it easy for him. As long as he stays aggressive, we'll be a better team." Utah's top player is also dealing with an injury as rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell had an MRI exam on his left foot with the results showing nothing more than a bruise. Mitchell, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds in his first career postseason game, asserts that he is fine and will play on Wednesday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE JAZZ: Mitchell had to exit the game twice in the fourth quarter due to his foot soreness, which was prompted by getting it stepped on by Oklahoma City's Corey Brewer earlier in the contest. Mitchell was confident that having two days off between games would provide ample time for rest and healing and the team took a collective sigh of relief when the MRI results came back negative. The 21-year-old completed the regular season by topping 20 points in 12 of 14 games and his strong playoff opener is a sure sign the Jazz will ride him as far as possible in this series.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: George revealed after Game 1 that he goes by "Playoff P" and the nickname appears to fit since he is averaging 22.7 points in 50 playoff games dating to the beginning of the 2013 postseason. Westbrook contributed 29 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in Game 1 but he looked like the complementary player and not the star in the opener. "We knew all along that we got multiple guys that can make plays, create and be explosive offensively," George told reporters. "We're not going to put that pressure on just one guy. Obviously, my job is to help Russ, and with that, it's helping the team. It's my job to bring it and to bring it at a high level."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz averaged 89.5 points while losing three of four regular-season meetings against the Thunder but topped that by nearly 20 points in Game 1.
2. Oklahoma City PF Carmelo Anthony was just 5-of-13 in the opener while recording 15 points and seven rebounds.
3. Utah backup SG Alec Burks will be in line for more playing time if Mitchell is ailing after scoring 10 points in just two minutes at the end of Game 1.