OKLAHOMA CITY — When Jae Crowder made a 25-foot 3-point jumper with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter, Game 5 looked all but over. That shot gave Utah a 71-46 lead, seemingly sealing a 4-1 series win for the Jazz.
Enter Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
The duo suddenly caught fire, leading OKC on an unprecedented 32-7 run to tie the game at 78 heading into the fourth before eventually pulling off a stunning 107-99 win, trimming Utah’s series lead to 3-2. The feat labeled the Thunder as the first team in NBA history to trail by 25 points in the third quarter and enter the fourth tied.
During that span, Westbrook and George combined to shoot 11-of-13 from the floor. Westbrook shot 7-of-8, including four 3s.
For the first time since Game 1, OKC played like it wanted to be there. It played like it belonged.
Westbrook didn’t slow down there, either, scoring 11 more in the fourth to finish with 45 points along with 15 rebounds and seven assists.
“I thought Russ did an unbelievable job of taking what they were giving him,” George said. “They went under his screens, he stopped and popped; I thought he kept the tempo going and he was himself in the fast break, open court. He just played the game, and whatever they did, he did the opposite. He was special.”
Meanwhile, George, who had 13 points at halftime, complemented Westbrook perfectly with 34 points, shooting 50 percent in the second half. The pair’s 79 points combined was the most by a duo in Thunder/SuperSonics playoff history.
“I think tonight, obviously, with the magnitude of the game and the excitement to come back, we played off each other very, very well,” Westbrook said. “Made big plays. Paul made big plays down the stretch, stayed in attack mode, and it was good tonight.”
For those final 15 or so minutes, the Thunder played like most thought they would coming into the season. It was a small glimpse of greatness that inserted the power of hope back into the team and the entirety of the fan base.
In all, OKC outscored Utah 61-28 after that Crowder 3-ball.
“There’s something about these guys competitively and chemistry wise,” OKC coach Billy Donovan said. “The strength of our team is the chemistry, the way these guys get along. We were inconsistent in the first half — inconsistent in communication, inconsistent in rotations, inconsistent late. In the second half, our coverages were on point. You didn’t see guys taking wide-open shots.
"When they took shots, they were somewhat contested. We talked a lot better. We saw things coming. We just did things at a better level. That’s been our challenge.”
However, as great as the Thunder’s comeback was, and it was great, at what cost did it come?
The run was an anomaly in a series filled with disappointment and frustration. Utah completely outmatching OKC in three-straight games can’t be ignored.
The spurt also didn’t come without some luck.
Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio and Derick Favors all struggled with fouls. In fact, Gobert exited the game with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter when the Jazz led 74-64 and didn’t return until the 7:58 mark in the fourth.
Utah led by 20-plus in the third quarter and let it slip away. Given how much energy the Thunder had to exert just to come back to win by eight, is it feasible for them to win two more games against a team that outclassed them through 3.5 games?
Is it reasonable to expect OKC to shoot that well in the second half again if it founds itself down by a similar margin in Salt Lake City on Friday?
If so, an energized response from passionate Thunder fans — who, on Wednesday night, made Chesapeake Energy Arena the loudest it’s been since Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals — won’t be the result.
These are questions that will linger moving forward, and as much as OKC wants to win and bring the series back home for Game 7, Utah wants to end things just as bad. Neither Utah’s will, nor its confidence has dissipated just yet.
Jazz rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell told Thunder fans as he left the court after Game 5, “We’ll see y’all next year.” That is the same mentality the Thunder must have come Game 6.
Playing in a hostile environment will be no easy task, especially with the Thunder’s most recent visits resulting in doubledigit defeats. OKC is 1-3 inside Vivint Smart Home Arena this season.
If the Thunder can pull this series off and advance to the second round against Houston, it will be almost unbelievable considering they would’ve overcome a 3-1 deficit which was almost entirely one-sided in average margin of victory.
OKC can’t afford to let the Jazz drive it into a corner with another 20-point lead. Westbrook and George are capable of playing the way they did late in Game 5 at any time, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen simultaneously again or at all.
OKC needs to keep pushing to prove to Utah that this game was no fluke.
The Thunder haven’t proven anything yet. They can do just that tonight in Salt Lake City.