Oklahoma maintains Western Conference top spot after crushing Utah

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Oklahoma City Thunder remained as the no. 1 team in the Western Conference after taking down the Utah Jazz, 119-107, in the ongoing NBA regular season on March 21, 2024.

With the win, Oklahoma just extended its winning streak to three straight games and improved to a conference-best record of 48 wins and 20 losses.

Stealing the spotlight for the Thunder is Chet Holmgren who posted a dominant double-double performance of 35 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and an assist.

Holmgren only needed 30 minutes to stuff the stat sheets for the Thunder and capped off his impressive outing with an efficient 12/18 shooting from the field.

The lanky power forward immediately owned the shaded lane after successfully fished for fouls that put him to the charity stripe six times and converted 10 out of his 12 attempts.

After Holmgren quickly got hot from the field, Oklahoma then turned to him and designed several plays that kept him going against the Jazz.

Picking up where Holmgren left off was NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who once again took over in the second half with his timely shooting.

The Canadian shooting guard took matters into his own hands when the Jazz attempted to storm back in the final frame, dropping 31 big points derived from 12/22 shooting from the field.

Aside from his offensive prowess, Alexander also showcased his playmaking skills and dished out seven dimes alongside four steals and three rebounds.

Jalen Williams sustained his role as Oklahoma’s stabilizer and spark after contributing 18 points, four assists, and two rebounds.

It was a tale of two streaks as Oklahoma’s protected winning streak turned into a different fate for the Jazz as they suffered their third consecutive defeat in a week.