National Basketball Association fines, doesn’t suspend Russell Westbrook for Game 5

When asked what the issues were with moving the ball on a night the Thunder totaled only 10 assists, the fewest they’ve had in a game since December 29, 2016, he rejected the premise. Westbrook was in danger of being suspended one game per National Basketball Association rules, but perhaps due to his superstar status he instead was assessed a technical foul and handed a $10,000 fine.

By the fourth quarter the heated emotions in the game were in overdrive.

Unless OKC comes back and wins three straight games against Utah, it could lead to a series of devastating dominos come July 1. Much like Utah, a little over half of Thunder games have finished under the total. Rookie Donovan Mitchell was outstanding as he went off for 33 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

On the strength of six 3-pointers, Ingles settled for 20 points.

“He’s done a good job of getting in there and finishing or dropping it off”, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “He’s our most dynamic offensive player”.

Ricky Rubio vs Russell Westbrook – Westbrook’s guarantee to shut Rubio down didn’t exactly work like he intended. Derrick Favors also scored 13. Not to be outdone, Rubio has put up 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.2 steals a game during that span.

The NBA is apparently looking into whether or not Russell Westbrook should be suspended for game five. “I thought we were at the rim a lot more”. We missed shots. That’s all it came down to.

The Thunder were within 12 before the Jazz rattled off nine straight points.

Ingles, an Australian whose lefty stroke and beautifully high-arching shot evokes memories of the great Allan Caidic, drilled three 3s in the final 1:43 of the second quarter, turning the tide irreversibly for Utah.

But one thing is very clear: we should expect a whole lot more drama before this is all said and done. “Once I was in the game, they told me to wait because they were going to review it. We hit some timely ones in the second half”. The teams have split four previous playoff series with Utah holding a 15-11 edge in games won. He was also given a technical foul. “When we’re in rotations, keeping those guys off the backboard is something that we’ve got to do”. I’m going to stick with the spread line, but don’t be afraid to roll the dice on the moneyline to get that plus money.