The movement was great, the communication was top-notch, the shots were open, the defense was on a string and the Utah Jazz went into halftime with a 68-67 lead over the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night at the Delta Center.
And then it all fell apart as the Jazz lost 144-112.
“It’s kind of like we just watched two different games,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “We just played the best team in the league and you’re winning at halftime, and so we just played 24 really good minutes and in the third quarter, especially the end of the third quarter, the game just sort of disintegrated, and a lot of that is due to turnovers."
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić (30) and Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) jump at tipoff during the first quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) shoots a 3-pointer during the first quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) reacts after a dunk during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) celebrates with teammates after making a 3-pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy looks on during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the first quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) drives to the basket for a layup during the first quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) grabs a rebound over Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić (30) during the second quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) during the second quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) during the second quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots over Utah Jazz guard Svi Mykhailiuk (10) during the first quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Svi Mykhailiuk (10) drives for a layup during the first quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
BYU basketball star AJ Dybantsa looks on during an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) shoots a 3-pointer during the first quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) passes the ball during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy yells to his players during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The Utah Jazz play the Oklahoma City Thunder in an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) dunks during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) passes the ball during the third quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) shoots a layup past Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) and guard Walter Clayton Jr. (13) during the fourth quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy yells to his players during the third quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Walter Clayton Jr. (13) looks on during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy looks on during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
BYU basketball star AJ Dybantsa, left, and his father, Ace Dybantsa, right, look on after an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić (30) boxes out Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the third quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Svi Mykhailiuk (10) drives past Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) is fouled during an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) draws a foul during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) reacts after being called for a foul during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) intercepts a pass intended for Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the fourth quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Oklahoma City Thunder center Branden Carlson (15) stares down Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) after a dunk during the fourth quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Fans yell during the fourth quarter of an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) looks on during a break in play during the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots a free throw during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) watches his shot during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the first quarter of an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.| Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The Jazz committed 28 turnovers on Friday night. The Thunder, who have a resounding league-leading record of 16-1, converted those turnovers into 44 points.
The turnovers lead to frustration, which leads to cracks in communication, which bleeds into how the defense operates, and then everything starts to take a nose dive.
In the second half, there were times when the focus and communication were so bad that half of the Jazz players were running one action while the other half were running something different, so there were wasted possessions and a ton of disorganization.
“The thing, as a group, that we’re continuing to try to fight for is our focus,” Hardy said. “But more than that, our ability to refocus.
“Like, there’s going to be a hard moment that goes bad. OK, can we snap back into what we’re trying to execute on both sides of the ball and not just continue to drift further and further from the plot?”
One of the things Oklahoma City does so well, especially on defense, is never lose the plot. Even when things are going bad, they are dialed in and just continue to eat and chip away.
“A lot of the defensive stuff is getting the team committed to invisible things that impact the team success but don’t necessarily get you a lot of, like, individual attention,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
“And we have a bunch of guys that naturally gravitate toward that. They’re competitors so they want to help the team in every way they can, and that certainly puts you at a huge advantage with that. Then when you’ve got a lot of guys doing it, there’s a contagiousness to it.”
So it’s more about the player mentality and collective mentality in a game. The Jazz are trying to work toward that. The question really becomes, do the Jazz have enough players that gravitate toward all the invisible stuff and are they committed enough to those things? And can they progress to a point that they are doing those things for 48 minutes rather than 24 minutes?
“It’s been happening too many times now, and I think kind of getting old for everybody,” Lauri Markkanen said. “We’re definitely watching film and trying to figure it out.
“We were up at half. Like, we can play some good basketball. We’ve got to kind of keep focusing and keep following the game plan for as close to 48 minutes as we can.”