Russell Westbrook unleashed the same fury he had in Game 4
Cheap Isaiah Oliver Jersey , just a little more efficiently this time.Westbrook was controlled, and he was too much for Utah. Silent and serious, the reigning league MVP scored 33 of his 45 points in the second half, and the
Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 25 points down to fight off elimination and
beat the Jazz 107-99 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.”It was win or go home,” Westbrook said. ”Regardless of what is going on in the game, you have to give yourself a chance to win, and I thought our guys did
a good job of that tonight. They did an amazing job of sticking together.”Westbrook got sidetracked during Monday’s Game 4 by a one-on-one matchup with Ricky Rubio. He was in foul trouble for much of Oklahoma City’s loss and was
later fined $10,000 and assessed a technical for an altercation late in that
game.With Oklahoma City trailing 3-1 in the series, he focused up in Game 5 and helped keep the season alive. He made 5 of 16 shots in the first half, then 12
of 23 in the second.Westbrook also had 15 rebounds and seven assists. Paul George added 34 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder
Donte Jackson Youth Jersey , who forced a Game 6 in Salt Lake City on Friday.”We stopped playing defense,” Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said. ”We stopped getting back. Our offense got stagnant. They made adjustments and we didn’t make
the right adjustments back. We will watch the film and figure out what went
wrong, but from my analysis right after the game, we just stopped getting back
in transition and they just fed off of that.”Jae Crowder scored a career playoff-high 27 points, Mitchell had 23 and Joe Ingles added 16 for the Jazz, who still have a 3-2 lead in the series.They realize it probably should already be over.”We need to do a better job,” Rubio said. ”Of course, you have to give them credit. They made a lot of shots. They took their pride and forced a Game 6. But
we are going home and we’ve got to be strong and be confident.”Oklahoma City took advantage after Utah’s post players, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, got into foul trouble. Both finished with five fouls
Cheap Braden Smith Jersey , and Oklahoma City was able to get to the basket consistently for the first time in the series.Gobert’s absence, in particular, caused problems.”It’s a different feeling when you don’t have big fella back there,” Mitchell said. ”It’s hard that we put all the pressure on him. We have had success but
eventually it’s not going to work and we have to play better defense as guards
ourselves.”Utah opened the second half on an 8-1 run to go up 64-42, and Crowder’s 3-pointer made it 71-46 with 8:34 left in the third quarter.Westbrook made back-to-back 3-pointers, then after a 3-point play by George, Westbrook made a jumper and a layup to cut Utah’s lead to 73-60 and bring energy
back into the arena.Gobert picked up his fifth foul with 3:46 left in the third quarter. Westbrook’s 3-pointer tied the game at 78 heading into the fourth quarter. He
scored 20 points in the third.Westbrook scored immediately at the start of the fourth to finally put the Thunder in front. Back-to-back 3s by Westbrook and Alex Abrines put Oklahoma
City up 96-91, and a jumper by Westbrook with 1:24 left put Oklahoma City up
107-99.”We just never quit,” George said. ”We never quit. I can’t pinpoint one thing we did wrong. We just never got down on ourselves, regardless of the lead they
built and the shots they were making. We could surge back and we did.”TIP-INSJazz: Shot 57 percent in the first quarter to take a 34-29 lead. … Crowder scored 15 points in the first quarter. … Mitchell was fouled on a 3-pointer with
11.1 seconds left in the first half. Before Mitchell shot his free
throws
Lamar Jackson Youth Jersey , Thunder coach Billy Donovan was called for a technical. Mitchell made all four free throws, and Utah led 56-41 at the break.
… Rubio finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.Thunder: Former Thunder forward Enes Kanter, who was sent to New York in the deal that brought Anthony to Oklahoma City, attended the game. Kanter played for
Utah before playing for the Thunder. … George made a 3-pointer at the
first-quarter buzzer.STAT LINESWestbrook had only scored 36 points in the second half of the first four games combined before unleashing 33 in Game 5.”Just staying aggressive,” Westbrook said. ”Just trying to pick my spots, the same shots I’ve been getting. I’ve just got to concentrate on making them.”MISSING IN ACTIONCarmelo Anthony scored just seven points on 2-for-6 shooting and played just 26 minutes. When he subbed out in the third quarter, the Thunder trailed 71-53.
By the time he subbed back in, Oklahoma City led 88-87.QUOTABLEGeorge on not resting in the second half: ”What were we going to rest for? We wanted this game tonight. We needed this game tonight. We were just going to
give it everything we had.”UP NEXTGame 6 is Friday in Salt Lake City.—New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, where his streak of 210 consecutive games started when
head coach Ben McAdoo benched him in favor of Geno Smith.Manning completed just
61.6 percent of his passes for 3
Derrius Guice Jersey ,468 yards (his fewest since 2008), and had 19 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. McAdoo was fired and replaced by Pat
Shurmur, while long-time general manager Jerry Reese was also shown the door.
New York went from 11 wins and a postseason berth in 2016 to the second overall
pick a year later.Manning has been given the vote of confidence from his new
coaching staff, and the two-time Super Bowl Champion feels like there is plenty
left to give in what's been a fairly successful career."Obviously it has been an
unbelievable run, but I want to continue doing it,??Manning told NFL Network
(h/t NJ.com). "It?? not over. I know that. . . . I?? excited for this upcoming
year and really prove that I can still play at a high level. We can win games.
We can win championships."The 2018 NFL draft featured a handful of prized
quarterback prospects, including Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Sam
Darnold. Many expected the Giants to draft Manning's successor, but they opted
for Penn State running back
Anthony Miller Bears Jersey , Saquon Barkley. There is reason for optimism in the Meadowlands this upcoming season. With Barkley in the backfield, Manning
will be armed with a game-changing running back who can ease some of the
workload off the passing game.On top of that, Manning's receiving core will
hopefully stay healthy this season. Star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. only played
in four games before fracturing his ankle and missing the rest of 2017. No. 2
wideout Sterling Shepard only played in 11 games, while perennial Pro Bowler
Brandon Marshall played five games before suffering a season-ending ankle
injury.Marshall was released, but Shepard, Beckham and Barkley give Manning
arguably the best set of playmakers he's ever had. And though the defense was a
mess in 2017, let's not forget they gave up the second fewest points per game in
2016.Manning is 37 years of age, but he's stayed healthy throughout his entire
career. With a new head coach and new playmakers around him, nobody should doubt
his ability to bring a third Super Bowl back to New York..
