Utah @ Oklahoma City preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 5, 2017 ) Utah 94, Oklahoma City 100

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still trying to figure out how to distribute the shots among their three star players, and sometimes it's just Russell Westbrook taking over and trying to win games. Westbrook will try to get a little more help and the Thunder will go for back-to-back victories when they host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Westbrook scored a season-high 38 points on 16-of-28 shooting in a 95-94 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday while Paul George went 3-for-13 and Carmelo Anthony was limited to four points while taking just six shots in 31 minutes. "I'm good with that, if we win," Anthony told reporters. "I'm cool with that, man. (Westbrook) had it going, and any time he has it going, we gotta just space it out, play off of him, let him work. The ball will find us. As far as shots go, there's going to be nights like that. I think that's something we have to accept." The Jazz could use a player like Westbrook to take over in the fourth quarter after getting run out of the arena by the Houston Rockets in the final 12 minutes on Monday. Utah held a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter and was up eight with just under 10 minutes to play before falling off the pace and losing 120-99 - it's sixth loss in the last seven games.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Oklahoma

ABOUT THE JAZZ (14-17): Utah is enduring a rough stretch of schedule with games at Boston, Cleveland and Houston and is finishing off a six-game road trip on Wednesday. The Jazz, who earned a 107-95 win at Boston on Friday for the lone victory of the road trip thus far, are mixing and matchup lineups with several key players injured and were without frontcourt stalwarts Derrick Favors (concussion) and Rudy Gobert (knee) on Monday. "We competed, and that was the main thing," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters after the loss. "But we got cross-matched in transition a couple of times. ... They are too good a team to let get going and they showed why they are so good. But I thought our guys showed tremendous character."

ABOUT THE THUNDER (15-15): The stagnation of the offense is a point of concern for Oklahoma City, even with the team winning three of its last four games. "The ball has gotta move and we have to generate better shots," coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "We can't iso our way to being a great team offensively." Westbrook recorded a triple-double in two of the last three wins and is averaging 30 points over the last three contests, beginning with a 119-117 triple-overtime win at Philadelphia on Friday in which he hoisted up 33 shots - making 10.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jazz SG Joe Johnson is 0-of-7 from 3-point range in three games since returning from a wrist injury.

2. Thunder C Steven Adams (concussion) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.

3. Utah took the first meeting at home on Oct. 21 but fell at Oklahoma City 100-94 on Dec. 5 as Westbrook collected 34 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds.

PREDICTION: Thunder 106, Jazz 104