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SALT LAKE CITY -- To say Rodney Hood was eager to return to the court after a hamstring injury sidelined him for three games might be an understatement.The third-year guard knocked down basket after basket from the opening tip and finished with 25 points as the Utah Jazz defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-89 on Wednesday night to break a tie between the teams atop the Northwest Division.These last few games have been so tough to watch, Hood said. My teammates have been out there just battling and playing and you cant do nothing but watch. It was good to be back out there.Utah led from start to finish behind 58.3 percent shooting and showed why its one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, holding the Thunder to 36.6 percent from the field.Gordon Hayward scored 17 for the Jazz, who have won nine of 11. Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Russell Westbrook paced the Thunder with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists. He shot 7 for 25 from the floor.When he has an off shooting night, you dont take credit for it with your defense, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. You just try to make sure you do as good of a job as you can, not giving up offensive rebounds when he drives and try not to give him layups. Sometimes thats hard to do.The guys that were guarding him worked hard. And thats really all you can ask.Enes Kanter scored 19 for Oklahoma City against his former team.The Jazz took a 55-41 lead into halftime thanks to a 15-6 run in the second quarter. Hood sank a pair of 3-pointers to highlight the stretch.The Thunder shot just 32.5 percent in the first half and had little offense outside of Westbrooks 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting.I know Gobert is a great rim protector, but I thought we had some shots around the basket that we normally could have made, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. I thought that bled into our struggles scoring.TIP-INSThunder: Victor Oladipo missed his second consecutive game with a right wrist sprain. Jerami Grant started in place of Oladipo for the second straight night. The Thunder had the same starting lineup for the first 24 games of the season.Jazz: George Hill missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left big toe, but is no longer in a walking boot. ... Utah is 15-2 when leading at halftime.A LITTLE RESTThe Jazz played their first game in four days after a stretch of eight games in 13 days. The injury-ravaged roster got Derrick Favors (knee) back after a 13-game absence, and Hood (hamstring) returned after missing three games. Snyder said the injuries didnt allow the team to practice much, but the Jazz tried to be smart and efficient in the things they could do. They also tried to get some rest and get healthy.Theres always a fine line between, you want to rejuvenate and recharge, but then you also dont want to lose timing and things like that, Snyder said.OVER ITWestbrook failed to get a triple-double for the third consecutive game and is starting to get annoyed with all the talk about him averaging a triple-double for the entire season.Honestly, people with this triple-double thing, is kind of getting on my nerves, he said. People think if I dont get it, its like a big thing. When I do get it, its a thing.If I get it, I get it. If I dont, I dont. It is what it is. I really dont care, not for the hundredth time. I dont care. All I care about is winning.UP NEXTThunder: Oklahoma City hosts Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.Jazz: Utah hosts a Mavericks team Friday that has lost 11 of 12 games on the road. Nike Zoom Buy Online . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Nike Zoom Sale . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. http://www.wholesalenikezoom.com/ . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Nike Zoom Online Shop . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Nike Zoom For Sale . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Former NSW Premier Barry OFarrell has been announced as Racing Australias new chief executive.OFarrell will take over from Peter McGauran, a former minister in the Howard government, who is leaving after almost five years at the helm of racing.McGauran has overseen a raft of changes in the industry since taking over in 2012 including the merger of the Australian Racing Board, Racing Information Services Australia and the Australian Stud Book.OFarrell led the NSW Liberal Party for seven years, serving as premier from 2011 to 2014, until he stood down after admitting to misleading thhe Independent Commission Against Corruption over a $3000 bottle of wine accepted as a gift.ddddddddddddIn late 2015, OFarrell conducted a review into illegal offshore wagering with the federal government April accepting 18 of his 19 recommendations to protect Australian consumers.OFarrell, who starts his new role in January, spent 20 years in state parliament and has served on the board of the Australia-India Council since his resignation from politics. 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