SALT LAKE CITY -- What Oklahoma City does on defense defines the team's brand of basketball even more than what the Thunder can do on offense.

Oklahoma City showed no fatigue in beating Utah 100-89 on the second night of a back-to-back. The Thunder attacked with vigor and energy on defense. They clogged passing lanes and forced the Jazz to work late into the clock on many possessions before getting off a shot.

It made it easier to deflect passes and force rhythm disrupting turnovers through four quarters.

"We wanted to come out and set the tone early," forward Carmelo Anthony said. "Defensively, we did that. Once we set the tone early, we had the momentum going throughout the whole game."

Russell Westbrook totaled 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 11th triple-double of the season to lead Oklahoma City. Paul George added 26 points and Anthony chipped in 16 points for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City (18-15) beat Utah for the third straight time to win the season series 3-1.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting after returning from a two-game absence. It was his 11th game with at least 20 points this season, but wasn't enough to wake up a sleepwalking Jazz team.

Mitchell said he had no problems with his toe during the game. The same couldn't be said for the Jazz offense.

Utah (15-19) committed 14 turnovers leading to 20 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder also overwhelmed the Jazz on the offensive glass, pulling down 15 offensive rebounds and turning them into 16 second-chance points.

"They're aggressive," Mitchell said. "I made a few passes that, against certain teams, are open. But when you have guys who are long and athletic and quick, those passes aren't there. That's the one thing we have to accept, the aggression and then counter it. I don't think we did that until we got toward the end of the game."

The Thunder did a good job of controlling the offensive glass and making the Jazz work overtime for each basket from the start. Oklahoma City tallied six steals and forced 10 total turnovers in the first two quarters -- leading to a dozen points the other way.

It helped the Thunder take control right away. They led by as many as nine points during the first quarter, going up 17-8 on Anthony's pull-up jumper.

"I didn't feel like we executed offensively," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "When you play a team that's long and athletic defensively, you need each other even more. You have to execute with even more force and commitment and we weren't able to do that."

Utah chipped away at it during the second quarter and pulled to within 36-34 on a dunk from Derrick Favors. The Thunder answered by running off seven straight points to fuel a 9-2 run, going up 45-36 on a layup from George.

Thabo Sefolosha made a pair of baskets and hit a free throw to pull Utah within 54-52 early in the third quarter. Oklahoma City didn't let the Jazz get closer. George quickly buried 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Thunder their first double-digit lead at 65-55.

Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said he thought George's defense played as much of role in helping the Thunder pull away as his offense did.

"He was aggressive, active hands, deflections, steals, rebounds, blocks," Donovan said. "He was all over the place defensively. He made a huge impact in the game."

Patrick Patterson extended the lead to 81-66 when he made a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws on Oklahoma City's first two possessions of the fourth quarter.

One thing prevented Utah from making a comeback was an inability to knock down shots from the perimeter. The Jazz shot 23.1 percent on 26 attempts from outside.

"We made them kind of go to other options that they don't usually go to," said Thunder center Steven Adams, who finished with 12 points and nine boards. "If you don't touch them at all and let them run the script, they're very, very dangerous. That's where we got hurt the first game and that's where you can get hurt from this team."

NOTES: Thunder teammates F Paul George and PG Russell Westbrook rank first and second, respectively, in the NBA in steals per game. George averages 2.6 steals and Westbrook averages 2.1 per contest. ... Jazz G Rodney Hood was held to zero points on 0-of-6 shooting in the first half and went 3-of-14 overall, scoring nine points. Hood came into the game averaging 19.2 points in his previous six games. ... Oklahoma City has scored at least 20 points off turnovers against Utah three times in four games this season.