SALT LAKE CITY — On the Thunder's first defensive possession, Russell Westbrook clapped his hands together and pushed up tight on his defensive assignment, a signal he was accepting the challenge of defending Ricky Rubio.
With two minutes left in the first half, Westbrook had mostly accomplished his goal. But the fouls were piling up.
Those fouls were costly in a 113-96 loss to the Jazz in Game 4 of the Western Conference first round. The Jazz now takes a 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
In a testy game filled with jawing and quick-trigger technical from officials that did nothing to stem the physicality, Westbrook picked up two fouls in 42 seconds toward the end of the first quarter, both falling into his proclamation from Game 3's postgame.