Jazz, Raptors Storm the Doors of Closeout Friday

For these squads, the drama comes later.

For Russell Westbrook, though, it never seems to end.

The season did for Oklahoma City, as it did for Washington, when Utah and Toronto fulfilled their first-round destinies with methodical destruction of lesser teams.

Both victors earned additional rest by wrapping up in six games.

 

The Jazz were content to simply do the Pepé Le Pew thing, serving as the constant compared to the seemingly frantic and definitely disjointed OK3 attack that's nothing more than a failed strategy.

 

 

This was one of those close-but-not-really sortsa games, where Utah's 96-91 clincher infers an element of doubt was present.

Not while Donovan Mitchell was out there -- 38 points, including a 5-8 performance from the perimeter -- and the Thunder stayed in panic mode when the rubber met the road.

Check them out in the game's final moments. Dudes scrapped for five o-boards at the very end and never did show the nerve that winners gotta have:

 

OKC was left to wonder what mighta been if Paul George woulda got the call against John Ringo -- make that Rudy Gobert -- but these are the playoffs, dammit!

 

Go check what hockey players are doing to each other in the Stanley Cup chase or the incidental contact that put a band-aid on Le Bron and make that comment again with a straight face.

Stat of the night had to be Toronto's 0-23 record when trailing on the road at halftime in away games.

That's got a hint of red-headed stepchild about it, enough to be ranked right up there with baseball's volumes of sabremetric overdosing. So, the Raptors paid no mind and played the second 24 minutes anyway:

 

Toronto's 102-92 result kept them undefeated in games where they scored the most points.

And speaking of a winner's determination, full marks to Fred van Vleet for returning from injury -- not without discomfort -- and doing Matthew Dellevadova sorta stuff.

 

In other words, dude had a floor game.

He was driving and diming, getting everyone in rhythm.

 

Now, off the Jazz and Raptors go, to bigger challenges.

Utah's gonna be in tough against Houston, but Toronto's gotta be savoring a shot at either Cleveland or Indiana.

There's no denying they'll be well-rested. That could be huge for both of them.