Thunder 95, Jazz 73
Kevin Durant had 19 points and nine rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds as host Oklahoma City rolled past struggling Utah for its fourth consecutive victory.
Jeremy Lamb scored 15 points and Reggie Jackson contributed 10 points and seven assists while starting in place of Russell Westbrook. The Thunder opted to rest Westbrook to give his surgically repaired knee five full days of rest entering Wednesday’s showdown against the San Antonio Spurs.
Enes Kanter scored 10 points off the bench for Utah before leaving with a sprained ankle. The loss was the sixth in a row for the Jazz, who shot 39.4 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from the free-throw line and matched their season low for points en route to dropping to 1-14.
The victory was the fourth in a row for Oklahoma City with three of them coming by double digits. The Thunder have started 6-0 at home for the first time since relocating from Seattle and have posted the franchise’s best such start since the SuperSonics won their first nine home games in the 2004-05 season.
Oklahoma City rolled from the outset, leading 22-13 after one quarter, and by as many as 20 in the second quarter before settling for a 47-30 lead at the break. The Thunder’s lead was 75-38 after Thabo Sefolosha’s 3-pointer with 2:18 left in the third quarter and the starters rested in the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Jazz didn’t have a single starter score in double digits, something that also occurred last season in Oklahoma City when Utah suffered a 110-87 loss on March 13. … Thunder F Perry Jones had 13 points and hit all three of his 3-point attempts. … Utah has scored fewer than 90 points in nine of its 15 games.