Keyonte George Reacts to Utah Jazz's Viral Smoke Machine Malfunction

In the midst of the Utah Jazz's blowout loss to the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder over the weekend, there came a pretty unique situation to arise within the Delta Center in the middle of the second quarter that put the action to a halt.

Above the Oklahoma City backboard, the smoke machine started firing off for a few minutes in the middle of live game action.

There’s a stoppage in play as the smoke machine behind the Thunder basket is going off during live action pic.twitter.com/9tGn9b5wgm
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) December 8, 2025

According to The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen, the machine wound inevitably be unplugged that allowed the game to resume, but it also unraveled into a clock malfunction in the second half.

That led to a delay in the second-half action, and for a few minutes before the clock issues were officially fixed, left the PA announcer, Marque Denmon, to call game-clock and shot-clock countdowns until things were smoothed out.

The NBA is always bound to deliver some unique moments beyond the nightly 82-game grind, and this was one of them––and it certainly wasn't anything third-year Jazz guard Keyonte George had seen before either.

“I ain’t been in the league that long — but I never had that in middle school, high school, or college," Jazz guard Keyonte George said, via Andy Larsen. “It’s obviously tough. You want to know how much time is on the clock.”

Dec 7, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) moves the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng (13) defends during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

According to the Jazz, the issues between the shot clock and the smoke machine were seemingly unrelated.

But the issues would soon be fixed in the middle of the third quarter, that kept the action rolling as usual, and in the end, led to a pretty brutal finish resulting in a 101-131 blowout in favor of the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-less Thunder, while Utah was also without the services of Lauri Markkanen.

Jazz Get Crushed By Thunder, 101-131

The Jazz did manage to have three scorers with 20-plus points on the night, led by Kyle Filipowski's team-leading 21 points as a starter, along with 20 from Taylor Hendricks and Walter Clayton Jr. But as OKC took a commanding lead in the first quarter, shot 50% from three on 21 makes on the game, and forced 17 turnovers on Utah, it wasn't enough to surmount the comeback.

Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams would lead the way for the Thunder with 25 points apiece, coming away with win number 23 on the season, while the Jazz drop to 3-7 in their last 10 games.

The Jazz won't be back at the Delta Center for another week while the NBA Cup action unravels, and they go on a one-game road trip to face the Memphis Grizzlies. But by then, let's hope the scoreboard can wind up running a bit smoother.

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