Oklahoma City tops Utah 88-82

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK.—Reggie Jackson scored 18-points and Andre Robinson grabbed 10 boards as the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-1, preseason) got back on the winning track defeating the Utah Jazz (1-3, preseason) 88-82 in the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday.

The 6’3” forward from Boston College made the most of the game on Sunday, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 behind the 3-point line, and pulling down 3 rebounds in 27 minutes.  Thunder veterans Serge Ibaka added 17 points and Thabo Sefolosha added 14 points as the Thunder took a quick 24-13 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, which seized the lead for the home side and they never relinquished it. The Jazz’s Gordon Hayward matched Jackson’s point total of 18 while Enes Kanter added 15 points and seven rebounds for the visitors.

The Thunder’s big man in the middle, Kendrick Perkins, was still out of the Thunder lineup nursing his dislocated ring finger, and Kevin Durant saw limited action, scoring 5 points in 18 minutes on 2-10 shooting.

Oklahoma City now travels to the valley of the sun to take on Phoenix on Tuesday night, then they will close out their exhibition schedule against the Chicago Bull at the InTrust Arena in Wichita, Kansas on Wednesday night, October 23rd.  The Thunder will open the regular season on the road in Salt Lake City on October 3oth agains the Jazz, the travel to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 1st.

The Thunder will open the home side of their schedule against the Phoenix Suns on November 3rd.