Chet Holmgren scored 21 points in less than three quarters to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder a step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 146-111 home win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

With four games remaining, the Thunder moved three games ahead of San Antonio. Oklahoma City's magic number to secure the top spot in the West for the third consecutive season is two.

Oklahoma City (62-16) has won five straight games and 17 of its last 18. Meanwhile, the Jazz (21-57) have dropped eight consecutive games, marking their longest losing streak of the season.

Any notion that the Thunder would take the Jazz lightly between games against the Lakers disappeared quickly, as Oklahoma City went on a 25-9 run over a six-minute span in the first quarter. The Thunder started 10-for-13 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers from Holmgren.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 of Oklahoma City's 40 first-quarter points, adding four assists, three rebounds, and a steal. He finished with 20 points, extending his NBA record to 138 consecutive games with 20 points or more on 7-of-10 shooting.

Jalen Williams added 15 points and seven assists against his brother Cody's team, while Luguentz Dort continued his late-season shooting surge, going 5-of-7 for 13 points. Oklahoma City finished with a season-high 40 assists, with Ajay Mitchell joining Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams in dishing out seven assists each.

With the Thunder up by 31 points with just over five minutes remaining in the third, coach Mark Daigneault removed all five starters. The Jazz responded with a 12-2 run, capped by a Jaylin Williams 3-pointer. Utah went nearly three minutes without scoring to end the third as Oklahoma City kept its comfortable lead.

Brice Sensabaugh led the Jazz with 34 points. Kyle Filipowski added 20, and Svi Mykhailiuk scored 17.

Oklahoma City, which swept the four-game season series against Utah, has won its last two games against the Jazz by an average of 39 points. The Thunder's two highest-scoring performances of the season came against Utah.

—Field Level Media/Reuters