OKC Thunder Beat Trail Blazers to Complete Season Sweep

OKC took down Portland at the Moda Center on Sunday evening to improve to 4-0 against the Blazers in 2022-23.

Oklahoma City defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 on Sunday evening, improving to 37-38 on the season. For the Thunder, all-star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds. 

OKC got off to a slow start, falling behind 9-3 in the first three minutes of action. After a steal and slam dunk in transition from Gilgeous-Alexander and another fastbreak finish by Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City was back within two. 

Midway through the first quarter, the Thunder trailed 14-9 behind five points from Giddey and four points from SGA. OKC continued to fall behind as the first quarter continued, with Portland taking a 10 point lead with less than three minutes remaining in the opening frame. 

Heading into the second quarter, the Trail Blazers held a 37-25 advantage, marking the third consecutive game Oklahoma City has allowed 35 points or more in the first frame. Portland's shooting began to cool off in the early minutes of the second period, however, and after a beautiful reverse layup from 19-year-old Ousmane Dieng, a corner 3-pointer from second-year guard Tre Mann and two free throws from sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, the Thunder had cut the Blazer's lead to 40-38.

Second-year forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl knocked down a triple on OKC's next possession to give Oklahoma City its first lead of the game. After two free throws briefly gave Portland the lead back, rookie wing Jalen Williams threw down a huge dunk to put the Thunder back on top.

A 14-2 OKC run gave the away team a brief 45-42 lead before a triple from Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe tied the game once again. A quick 7-0 run by Portland erased Oklahoma City's lead and put the home team up by four. 

The Thunder continued to fight back, though, going on a 10-0 run of their own to take a 55-49 lead over the Blazers with less than five minutes to go in the second quarter. After Joe's fifth 3-pointer of the half and two free throws from Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC had its largest lead of the game.

Despite being without Damian Lillard and multiple other key players, the Blazers didn't back down, cutting the deficit to two with less than a minute left in the first half. After multiple turnovers by Portland, however, Oklahoma City went into the break with a 68-62 advantage. 

Coming out of halftime, Jalen Williams connected on a triple from the corner to get the Thunder on the board first in the third quarter. An 11-0 run by the Blazers, aided by five consecutive points from Nassir Little, gave Portland a 73-70 lead less than four minutes into the second half. 

With around five minutes left in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander connected on two free throws to tie the game at 78. On the Blazers ensuing offensive possession, Keon Johnson found the bottom of the net on a 3-pointer to push the home team back ahead. 

Giddey answered with a triple of his own, but two more baskets from Portland gave the Trail Blazers an 85-81 lead. After a controversial out of bounds call against Little on OKC's next possession, Joe was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and knocked down three free throws.

On the other end of the floor, Johnson connected on another shot from beyond the arc to keep Portland's lead at four. A deep 3-pointer from Jalen Williams followed by a contested layup from Mann gave Oklahoma City a 91-90 lead with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

With the game tied at 94, a collision at mid-court popped the ball in the air and into the hands of Joe, who drove down court and dished a pass over to Dieng who finished a layup to put the Thunder ahead 96-94 heading into the final frame.

Following a quick 6-0 run by the Trail Blazers early in the fourth quarter, OKC trailed the home team 102-98 with less than 10 minutes left in the contest. A few moments later, Gilgeous-Alexander finished an "and-one" layup over Little to tie the game at 103. 

An impressive 9-0 run by the Thunder gave Oklahoma City a 109-103 advantage with just under five minutes left in the game. After two easy buckets by Portland, however, OKC led by just two points.

A triple from Giddey followed by a transition score from SGA gave the Thunder a seven point lead with less than two minutes remaining. OKC would not relinquish its late advantage, eventually coming out on top, 118-112.

Oklahoma City returns home on Tuesday, March 28, to take on the Charlotte Hornets, who are fresh off of back-to-back victories over the Dallas Mavericks.

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