SALT LAKE CITY -- Even with many key players missing large swaths of games because of injuries, the Utah Jazz were able to stay on a winning track. Now that some of those players are starting to get healthy again, the Jazz could take the step forward everyone expected before the season began.Gordon Hayward returned Saturday after a one-game absence and led Utah to a 104-84 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Now the Jazz have more good news: Derrick Favors is expected to be back in the lineup Thursday when Utah plays host to the Oklahoma City Thunder.Favors, who missed the past 13 games because of a bone contusion on his left knee, is expected to play limited minutes against Oklahoma City. He has appeared in 11 games this season, and he is averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 block per contest.His return should further strengthen one of the NBAs top defensive teams. Utah (15-10) showed why it earned such a lofty status during the fourth quarter against the Kings. The Jazz held Sacramento to just eight points on 3-of-22 shooting over the final 12 minutes. That effort helped Utah overcome a season-high 22 turnovers that led to 36 points for the Kings.We guarded, said Hayward, who notched his 10th consecutive 20-point game, finishing with 26. They got nothing easy. It seemed like a lot of the shots were contested. Thats just what happened. Then we were able to get the ball up the court and they werent set. We got some good looks. People knocked down timely threes.Finding a way to contain Russell Westbrook will offer one of the toughest defensive challenges Utah has faced this season. Westbrook is playing at a MVP level this season while serving as Oklahoma Citys primary offensive option following Kevin Durants departure over the summer.Through 25 games, Westbrook is averaging 30.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.8 assists. If he can stay on his current pace for an entire season, he would be the first NBA player to average a triple-double since Oscar Robertson did it in the 1961-62 season.Westbrook has 12 triple-doubles so far this season -- including one stretch of seven in a row. He became the first player to notch seven consecutive triple-doubles since Michael Jordan did it in the 1988-89 season.For Westbrook, his sole goal is all about doing whatever is necessary to help his team get better and reach a championship level.I think thats what made those players so great -- Magic, MJ, Oscar, Westbrook told USA Today. They did it by winning some championships (and) by also helping the guys around them. Thats what I want to do.Oklahoma City (15-10) lost two of its past three after reeling off six straight wins. The Thunder fell 114-95 at Portland on Tuesday night in the first leg of a back-to-back road trip. Oklahoma City shot only 38 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.The Thunders second-leading scorer, Victor Oladipo, did not play Tuesday after spraining his wrist against the Boston Celtics two nights earlier. Oladipo is averaging 16.1 points through 24 games.Oklahoma City swept the season series with Utah a year ago, winning all four games.Curtis Joseph Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Gordie Howe Red Wings Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/andreas-athanasiou-jersey/ . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Jimmy Howard Jersey . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Nicklas Lidstrom Red Wings Jersey . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p.Barring unexpected developments, the Kansas City Chiefs and franchise-tagged safety?Eric Berry are not expected to reach a long-term deal before Fridays deadline, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.Berry, 27, received the Chiefs non-exclusive franchise tag, worth $10,806,000, on March 1. Assuming no deal is reached, Berry will be allowed to negotiate with other teams, but any club that signs him would have to surrender two first-round picks to Kansas City.As he hadnt signed the tender, Berry stayed away from the Chiefs offseason activities and didnt participate in the teams minicamp. He has said he hoped to reach agreement on a long-term contract with the Chiefs.This is the second consecutive year the Chiefs have gone down to the July 15 deadline with a franchised player. Last year, Kansas City and linebacker Justin Houston agreed to a six-year, $101 million deal that included $52.5 million guaranteed on deadline day.Berry capped a remarkable 2015 season by being named NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the The Associated Press.He was diagnosed in November 2014 with Hodgkins lymphoma shortly after complaining of tightness in his chest after a ggame against the Oakland Raiders.ddddddddddddBut Berry, buoyed by his conditioning sessions even through his chemotherapy treatments, was cleared to return to football by both personal physicians and team doctors shortly before the start of training camp last summer.Things progressed in stages from there. Berry quickly was allowed to participate in contact drills, earned his starting spot back, and -- over the last several games of the season -- played as well as he had at any time before his illness.Berry finished third on the Chiefs in tackles and had two interceptions. After the season he played in the fourth Pro Bowl of his six-year NFL career.Berry joined the Chiefs as a first-round draft pick in 2010 from?Tennessee.Six other players (the Washington Redskins Kirk Cousins, Chicago Bears Alshon Jeffery, Los Angeles Rams Trumaine Johnson, Denver Broncos Von Miller, New York Jets Muhammad Wilkerson and Baltimore Ravens Justin Tucker) face the Friday 4 p.m. deadlineESPN Chiefs reporter Adam Teicher contributed to this report. ' ' '