Jazz lead Thunder 52-44 at halftime

SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Millsap and C.J. Miles fueled a 12-4 run in the last five minutes of the first half to lift the Utah Jazz to a 52-44 halftime lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

With Utah trailing 41-40, Millsap's two drives to the basket bookended an 8-0 run to give the Jazz a 48-40 lead. Miles scored the other two Utah baskets in that spurt on a dunk and a layup to help the Jazz jump ahead of the top team in the Western Conference.

Miles and Al Jefferson each scored buckets inside to finish Utah's game-changing 12-4 run.

Millsap wound up with 12 first-half points, while Miles and Jefferson had eight points apiece, with Miles scoring six of his eight points in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first half. Backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting with a 3-pointer in just 9 1/2 minutes off the Jazz bench.

Russell Westbrook scored 13 points and Kevin Durant 10 for the Thunder (34-11), which came into Tuesday night's game with the best record in the West and the second-best record in the entire NBA.

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