Looking to keep its undefeated streak alive, the OKC Thunder defeated the Portland Trailblazers by a final score of 137-14. With the hard-fought road victory, OKC improved to 5-0 while Portland dropped to 2-3.
OKC’s final result relied on the performances of forward Jalen Williams and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with Williams finishing with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Gilgeous-Alexander with 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and forward Chet Holmgren helped the Thunder get out to a quick lead, giving the matchup the appearance of a blowout. That would not be the case, but the quick start for OKC was certainly helpful.
The first quarter went about as well as it could for OKC, leading 37-24 at its end. With 9:32 remaining in the second quarter, OKC looked like it would run away with it, leading 44-29. Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC’s bench depth were efficiently scoring on offense and limiting what Portland could do through its defense. The Trailblazers flipped a switch around halfway through the quarter, led by center DeAndre Ayton, forward Deni Avdija and guard Anfernee Simons.
Portland’s trio brought the game to within three points nearing the end of the quarter and took the lead thanks to a triple from second-year guard Scoot Henderson. He did not have his best game of the early season, finishing with only eight points on inefficient 3-for-8 shooting. The former second-overall pick is now coming off the bench for Portland, looking to recapture his role as a starter.
The two battled back and forth for most of the third quarter and OKC kept trying to pull away but couldn’t manage it. OKC’s defense, which has been arguably the best in the NBA to start the new season, completely struggled in this third quarter to stop Portland’s scorers. The Trailblazers are full of talented isolation scorers and made that point known in the third quarter, thanks to the likes of the Simons and forward Jerami Grant.
Two-point buckets from forward Lu Dort and guard Aaron Wiggins finally gave OKC a cushion, leading 87-78 with 4:15 remaining. After that point, the Thunder began getting its looks on offense in order to increase its lead. They scored 19 points in the final four minutes of the quarter to bring its lead to 21 points, putting the game far out of reach for Portland to claw back.
In classic blowout fashion, OKC got to empty its bench in the fourth quarter. Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace became the two leaders on the court and continued to enhance the lead, with help from rookie guard Ajay Mitchell and forward Ousmane Dieng.
Recent signee Malevy Leons, the former Bradley Brave, got his first action of the regular season late in the quarter. He finished with only one rebound and one assist in two minutes, still gaining valuable experience.
Another one of OKC’s rookies, forward Dillon Jones, saw the floor against Portland. He’s struggled to do through the Thunder’s first four games and made the most of it, finishing with five points and two boards on 2-for-3 shooting.
Leading the way for Portland was Grant, recording 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Off the bench for Portland, french guard Rayan Rupert posted 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting in only 20 minutes of game time.
After improving to 5-0 on the season, OKC plays at 9:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Intuit Dome against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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