“Three takeaways from Thunder’s blowout win over Utah Jazz”

The Oklahoma City Thunder officially advanced to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup on Tuesday night, defeating the Utah Jazz 133-106.

It wasn’t a particularly close contest throughout the game, especially after the Thunder dominated by 40 points in the third quarter. Jalen Williams led the team with 28 points on 12 of 18 shooting, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander followed with 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting.

Combined with a strong defensive performance and a few players on the bench making big plays, it was easy for Oklahoma City to come out on top. As a team, the team shot 52% from the field and 36% from 3-point range.

The Thunder will face the Dallas Mavericks in a playoff rematch in the quarterfinals.

Here are three takeaways from the 27-point win:

As is typical for Oklahoma City this season, the defense had a big performance in securing the win over Utah.

The Thunder totaled 18 steals on the night and scored 45 total points against the Jazz. This created easy fastbreak opportunities that allowed the team to gain such a large lead, and almost everyone got in on the action.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins all had three steals at the end of the game. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed two, while several players in the lineup had one hit. It was a party all night long for Oklahoma City on defense.

Although two key players on defense are out for the time being – Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso – the Thunder are still one of the best defensive units in the NBA. It’s a testament to how deep the talent pool is in the field, but also to the system coach Mark Daigneault has built to maintain the strength of his players.

With so much capital from thefts, it’s no surprise that the game ended the way it did.

Although the depth chart is somewhat depleted, Oklahoma City was able to get plenty of production from its bench unit last night.

Isaiah Joe had one of his best games of the year so far, dropping 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field and 5 of 9 shooting from behind the arc. He was something of a spark plug for the Thunder, and that was always prevalent against Utah.

Wiggins was another bright spot, continuing his excellent play off the bench. The forward dropped 16 points of his own on 6 of 11 shooting from the field and had strong defense with three steals and a block.

Rookie Dillon Jones even had a first-class performance in 16 minutes – he scored eight points and four rebounds on 3 of 5 shots from the field.

While the Thunder have struggled with injuries, having a bench unit that can perform like this on any given night will be important going forward. It will be particularly important in the cup game against a talented Mavericks team.

The All-Star break is still a few months away, but come on. Given the way Williams has played this season, there is no reason why he shouldn’t get his first pick as long as he doesn’t suffer an injury.

The 23-year-old is averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.1 steals and one block on 50.5/39/80% shooting splits. So far it is the highest points per game of his young career.

With both Holmgren and Hartenstein unavailable, Williams held down the fort at center for several weeks, helping steer the ship of an Oklahoma City team that could have been relegated in the Western Conference standings. It may not have been his usual position, but he showed his flexibility by taking on the role with aplomb.

Since Hartenstein’s debut, Williams has returned to power forward and continued his success. If the Thunder end up as the top seed in the West by halftime – and they should – it will be hard for them not to earn two All-Star selections.

And if anyone but Gilgeous-Alexander gets it, it’s Williams. No question.

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