Oct. 30,2013 NBA Game: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz

THE FACT: Kevin Durant is in midseason form, and he took an early lead in the NBA scoring title race with 42 points against the Utah Jazz.

THE LEAD: With each team undermanned in their own right, there was one glaring difference between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz when it was time to decide the game on Wednesday night: a bona fide superstar.

The Thunder's Durant was the difference down the stretch as he scored 15 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter to lead Oklahoma City to a 101-98 win over Utah. He shot 22-of-24 from the free-throw line, totals that were just shy of his career-highs of 24 made foul shots and 26 attempts he set in January of 2009.

Oklahoma City, playing without All-Star Russell Westbrook, got a tougher-than-expected challenge from the rebuilding Jazz. Reggie Jackson, starting in Westbrook's place, had 14 points, five steals and three assists.

Alec Burks, who came off the bench for Utah, poured in a team-high 24 points. The Jazz only dressed 10 players because of various injuries, and opened the season without expected starting point guard Trey Burke.

QUOTABLE: "Every night is its own night. Each game is its now game. I think tonight is a perfect example of how you can't predict what's going to happen. That's what is so wonderful about sports and why sports are so popular round the world. You have to watch because you don't know what's going to happen."
-- Thunder guard Derek Fisher on Wednesday's game being closer than the experts predicted.

THE STAT: Oklahoma City had a slight rebounding edge (45-44) over Utah, and when that happens the Thunder usually win. They were 44-8 when they outrebounded their opponents last season.

TURNING POINT: Utah trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but battled back to get within a point three times in the fourth quarter. The Jazz, however, just couldn't get over the hump. Down 90-89, John Lucas III stepped out of bounds following a pass from Gordon Hayward. Trailing 97-94 with 19 seconds left, Derrick Favors missed two free throws. After Durant sank two foul shots to make it 101-98, Hayward missed a long 3-point attempt in the final seconds to prevent the Jazz from sending the game into overtime.

HOT: Burks gave the Jazz a spark off the bench, which is what coach Tyrone Corbin intended when he left the third-year player out of the starting lineup. Burks scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. He made a couple of highlight-reel layups, and got his teammates involved -- which has been a weakness of his so far in his NBA career -- finishing with a team-high six assists. For the Thunder, they got a nice boost from their starting backcourt. Jackson efficiently ran the team with Westbrook sidelined. Thabo Sefolosha hit a couple 3-pointers and scored 14 points.

NOT: The Jazz's end-of-half execution right before halftime was embarrassing. Down a manageable 54-48, Utah had possession with the game clock and shot clock nearly identical. Lucas, however, airballed a 3-point attempt with 5.9 seconds left in the half, and the Thunder quickly capitalized. Kendrick Perkins caught the miss, and passed to Sefolosha, who drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Oklahoma City a 57-48 lead going into the break. Sefolosha's 3-pointer counted the same as Oklahoma City's winning margin.

QUOTABLE II: "It is too many, man. It is too many. We have to cut those turnovers a little bit. That was our first game and I know that's not an excuse but we have to get better at it."
-- Jazz center Enes Kanter on Utah committing a costly 22 turnovers.

GOOD MOVE: Oklahoma City's defensive effort greatly improved between the first and second quarters and it proved to be one of the keys of the game. After allowing 29 points in the first, the Thunder held the Jazz to 19 points in the second quarter. Utah shot 47.6 percent in the first quarter, but didn't reach that percentage in a quarter the rest of the game due to nice adjustments made by Thunder coach Scott Brooks.

BAD MOVE: While meeting with the media before the game, Brooks mentioned that he had talked to his players about the league's point of emphasis on delay of game rules on Wednesday morning. He said the NBA does not want teams to tap the ball back to referees after baskets. He also emphasized that the point of emphasis, which basically penalizes a team for messing with the ball after a successful basket isn't subjective -- you either touched the ball or you didn't. Well, his players didn't get the message. The Thunder were whistled for four delay of games in the first half, three of which were technicals following a warning, and gave the Jazz free throws and free points.

NOTABLE: The Thunder shot 87.9 percent (29-for-33) from the free-throw line. Utah outscored Oklahoma City 56-32 in the paint. Kanter had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds Favors had a career-high five assists while playing 43 minutes. Mike Harris scored a career-high 13 points for Utah.

UP NEXT: For the Thunder, Friday @ Minnesota, Sunday vs. Suns, Wednesday vs. Mavericks. For the Jazz, Friday @ Phoenix, Saturday vs. Rockets, Tuesday @ Brooklyn.