Williams Triple Double Gives Undermanned OKC Thunder Victory Over Portland

An odd matchup was presented to the Oklahoma City Thunder faithful at the Paycom Center, with an undermanned Thunder squad hitting the court against the Portland Trail Blazers. OKC went on to win 107-89, with a variety of impressive performances behind it.

OKC was down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein for its matchup against Portland. That forced players like Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins into the starting lineup.

Despite missing their stars, the Thunder got out to a quick start. With Williams as the hub of the offense, OKC's ball movement and court spacing didn't seem to skip a beat to start the game.

Arguably, no skill and statistic stood out like Williams' passing and his number of assists. He finished the game with 11, consistently setting his teammates up and dictating where the ball would go. He was one of many who stood out with his increased playing time. He didn't just do that. Williams recorded his first-career triple-double, adding 10 points and 11 rebounds to his stat line. He made his presence felt in multiple ways in arguably the best game of his career.

Because the Thunder were missing so much of their scoring, someone had to take over that role. It was Wiggins who did so, leading the team in scoring and finishing the game with 30 points on 13-for-26 shooting.

That scoring boost continued to improve as the game went on for Wiggins, taking advantage of over-aggressive defense and cutting behind it. A textbook definition of playing smarter, not harder, was on display for all of the Thunder offense.

Oklahoma City led for most of the opening 15 minutes of the game, until a run from Anfernee Simons sparked the Blazers to get back into it. He found success in his niche scoring spots, primarily in the mid-range area. Simons finished the game with 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting.

As the first half wound down, Portland's physicality and active hands-on defense increased. They forced the Thunder into some awkward situations on offense, like bad footing or poor court positioning, but they didn't turn them into points on the other side of the ball. That pressure was countered with good fast breaks at the hands of the Thunder, who responded quickly.

A ferocious run from Wiggins and the rest of his teammates pushed the Thunder ahead 63-45 at halftime, with everyone getting in on the fun.

OKC, for the most part, carried over that run and intensity into the third quarter. Wiggins stayed hot and Oklahoma City's defense ramped up, as well. Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson provided a glimmer of hope for Portland, however, by breaking down the home team's defense and getting to the rim.

The trio of guards did the majority of the scoring for the Trail Blazers. Henderson did most of his work at the rim, finishing the game with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Sharpe also played well in his first start in quite a while, ending the night with 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting.

Oklahoma City's magic without its star players started to fizzle and what was once a 21-point lead was shaved down to a seven-point lead at the end of the third quarter, finding themselves ahead 80-73. The inefficiency and sloppiness of the Thunder carried into the fourth quarter. They couldn't generate any offense from any spot on the court for most of the quarter.

When the momentum had shifted in favor of the Blazers, the Thunder desperately needed an offensive response. They got exactly that, with Wiggins and Williams effectively saving the day in the final five minutes of the game. It wasn't the prettiest performance, but Oklahoma City's depth piece did enough to lead to a win.

OKC hits the court next against the Denver Nuggets at home at 12:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 9.

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