OKC Thunder's Stifling Defense Locks Down 18-Point Home Victory

Just over seven minutes remained in Friday night's matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers when Shaedon Sharpe made an and-one layup past Ousmane Dieng, who pushed him slightly on his way up. Sharpe converted the ensuing free throw to bring Portland within two points, a tremendous turnaround for the road team after trailing by 21 with 8:21 left in the third quarter.

The Trail Blazers proceeded to score four points on 1-for-13 shooting the rest of the way. They recorded more turnovers (two) than field goals in those seven minutes, as the Thunder swelled its lead to double-digits on an Alex Caruso 3-pointer and won 107-89 thanks to a last-minute Kenrich Williams floater.

"The offense went in and out at different times, but the defense was there all night — down the stretch especially," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

Oklahoma City sat its prolific rim protectors Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, lockdown perimeter hounds Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace and do-it-all-wing Jalen Williams. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an impactful defensive playmaker in his own right, missed his second game of the 2024-25 season. This was not the league's No. 1 defensive unit.

Still, the Thunder's shorthanded personnel held the Trail Blazers to their second-lowest point total of the season on 48.1% 2-point shooting and a miserable 8-for-43 outing on 3-pointers. Jaylin Williams, Caruso, Dieng and Isaiah Joe each tallied multiple steals, helping the Thunder record more steals than turnovers for the 21st time this season.

Jaylin Williams, who earned his first career triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, also blocked two shots as a starting center. He helped hold Portland to 15-for-31 shooting in the restricted area.

One particular challenge for the Thunder was stopping the primary Trail Blazers scorers without its imposing perimeter defenders. Anfernee Simons scored 13 consecutive and unanswered points on 5-for-6 shooting for the Trail Blazers at the start of the second quarter but did not make a field goal at any other point. Jerami Grant finished with four points on 10 shots, missing all six 3-point attempts.

In other words: Mission accomplished.

"Grant and Simons are the two guys that we went into the game knowing that we needed to do a really good job on," Daigneault said. "We kept their attempts down, and we put them in a crowd when they had the ball."

Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City take on Nikola Jokic and the No. 3 Denver Nuggets tomorrow at 12 p.m. CST. The teams will play an immediate rematch in Paycom Center this Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. CST.

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