Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Thrilling Victory over Portland
The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder met the Portland Trail Blazers at the Paycom Center, Mark Daigneault's team turned in a historic performance.
After beating the Chauncey Billups-led Blazers by a whopping 62 points, Portland appeared determined to give the Thunder a fight this time around.
While things appeared very similar to the last meeting between the to squads in the first quarter, the Trail Blazers clawed back, leading for a good portion of the second half before chaos erupted late in the fourth quarter.
In the end, OKC narrowly escaped an upset loss and now sits atop the Western Conference.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday night's contest.
The Thunder have solid depth on the roster
Against the Blazers on Tuesday night, Daigneault once again proved that he is willing to utilize the depth on OKC's roster.
In the first quarter alone, nine Thunder players scored at least one basket. For comparison, the New York Knicks played just nine players throughout the entire game during their Tuesday night victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Oklahoma City's bench scored 38 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while going a combined 16-of-28 from the field. In total, eight OKC players got minutes off the bench against Portland.
Aaron Wiggins was the Thunder's leading bench scorer, finishing with 13 points and three rebounds while shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point range.
Isaiah Joe also had a solid outing, tallying nine points, two assists and one rebound while shooting 4-of-5 from the floor.
Jaylin Williams, who has struggled this season, also provided solid depth at the center position, going 3-of-5 from the floor and finishing off multiple nice plays in the paint.
Even rookie two-way guard Keyontae Johnson earned five minutes for the Thunder on Tuesday night, grabbing an important rebound away from a crowd of Blazers defenders and passing out to Joe, who drove to the basket for an easy layup.
Oklahoma City can make plays in key moments
On Tuesday night, the OKC had its back against the wall after a deep triple from Anfernee Simons gave the Trail Blazers a three-point lead with less than a minute left in the game.
To come out of the contest with a win, the Thunder had to make three huge plays down the stretch, which the team executed almost flawlessly.
First, Jalen Williams knocked down a mid-range jump shot that cut Portland's lead to one. After Williams' basket, Oklahoma City trapped Malcolm Brogdon against the sideline with two defenders, forcing the former Celtics guard to double dribble, giving OKC the ball back with just over 15 seconds left in the game.
After a technical free throw from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied the game at 109, Williams knocked down yet another clutch shot that would end up being the game-winner.
Against the Wolves on Saturday, Gilgeous-Alexander also made a big-time play late in the game.
With the Thunder trailing 94-93 with 1:20 left in the game, SGA grabbed a defensive rebound, took the ball down the court and connected on a 3-pointer that gave Oklahoma City a lead they would not relinquish.
Over the past two games and the entire season, OKC has proven they have the ability to make big plays in crucial moments.
The Thunder are tired after a busy January slate
Oklahoma City has had a busy month of January featuring 12 games in a large handful of different cities.
With all the travel and little rest that the team has gotten since the start of the New Year, it is evident that OKC is starting to get worn out in their current stretch.
After blitzing the Blazers in the first quarter, opening up with a 38-point first quarter, the Thunder struggled to find the same offensive rhythm for the rest of the contest.
After the opening frame, Oklahoma City looked tired, making careless mistakes that Daigneault's team is usually able to avoid.
In the fourth quarter specifically, OKC missed multiple open layups that the group rarely would normally have no problem finishing. Additionally, the Thunder missed more free throws than usual, shooting just 64.3% from the charity stripe.
On the season, Oklahoma City is shooting over 83% from the free throw line as a team.
While there is no statistic to account for exhaustion, watching the Thunder make uncommon mistakes and unforced errors could be an indicator that the team is tired after their tough January schedule.
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