SALT LAKE CITY \u2013 Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each scored 25 points and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder improved to 23-1 with their 15th straight victory, routing the Utah Jazz 131-101 on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
Holmgren added nine rebounds, and Williams had eight assists. Aaron Wiggins scored 19 points, while Branden Carlson had a season-high 13 points.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City shot 58% from the field and made 21 3-pointers. The Thunder scored 27 points off 17 Utah turnovers.<\/p>\n
Kyle Filipkowski led the Jazz with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks added 20 points apiece. Clayton had nine assists.<\/p>\n
Both teams played without their leading scorers. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was sidelined because of left elbow bursitis. Utah’s Lauri Markkanen sat out with an undisclosed illness.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City raced out to a 13-1 lead before the Jazz scored their first basket 3 1\/2 minutes in. Utah made it 18-9 on a layup from Keyonte George and then got buried under an avalanche of baskets from Carlson.<\/p>\n
The second-year center dunked the ball and made three 3-pointers over five possessions to ignite a 25-7 run that made it 43-16 going into the final minute of the first quarter. The Thunder ended up scoring 45 first-quarter points.<\/p>\n
The Jazz have given up 86 points in the first quarters over their last two games.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City maintained a double-digit lead over the final three quarters, leading by 42 points in the second half.<\/p>\n
Up next<\/p>\n
Thunder: Host Phoenix on Wednesday night in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Jazz: At Memphis on Friday night.<\/p>\n
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