"The Utah Jazz seemed to have caught the Oklahoma City Thunder at a good time.

The Western Conference-leading squad had a late game in Sacramento on Thursday night. They were playing their fourth away game in five nights. Plus, they were playing at EnergySolutions Arena.

The Jazz, meantime, had a couple of days off to recuperate from a rough two-game road trip back East.

That scenario actually concerned Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin coming into this ESPN-televised contest — for good reason, it turned out.

"If we look at them as if they're going to be tired," Corbin said earlier in the day, "we're making a mistake."

Despite Utah's favorable rest factor, two things didn't play into the Jazz's favor:

For one thing, the Thunder had to be extra motivated after losing to the Kings. For another, Al Jefferson wasn't just blowing smoke when he called Oklahoma City the best team in the NBA."