What a drama in Portland! Despite a 17-point lead, the Portland Trail Blazers (6-4) make it even more exciting in the final minutes. Russell Westbook and Paul George defend themselves by all means, but the comeback of Oklahoma City Thunder (4-5) remains unfinished. Portland wins thanks to Damian Lillard with 103:99 (BOXSCORE). Carmelo Anthony has been in the cabin for quite some time now – the reason is a Flagrant foul.
The Oklahoma guests certainly had a different idea of the start of the game. After an 18-point half-time lead against the Celtics was lost, the Thunders wanted to regain their old strengths in a particularly defensive manner. That was definitely not possible.
Especially Jusuf Nurkic couldn’t get OKC under control. The 23-year-old raged in the Zone at will, giving Portland an 8-point lead in the first quarter. His colleagues also showed a good hand from the very beginning, with 63.2 percent of their field throws scuttled by the hosts.
From the point of view of the Thunder, things didn’t get any better until the second section. Thanks to Russell Westbrook (25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, but only 10/25 FG) and Carmelo Anthony Oklahoma City compensated for this, the many turnovers of Portlands also played into the hands of the guests. But in the second half, the Blazers increasingly found gaps in the Thunder-Defense.
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Led by Damian Lillard, who is a strong man, Portland has meanwhile set off 17 points in the third stage. The Point Guard scored 36 points (10/18 FG) and distributed 13 assists – the best value of the season for the 27-year-old. Lillard received support from Nurkic, who played a total of 25 points (11/15 FG) and 8 rebounds. C.J. McCollum completed the strong performance of the Blazers Big Three with 22 points (6/9 threesomes).
The Thunder’s Big Three disappointed a little. Melo was in a pretty good mood this evening (15 points in 23 minutes), but had to leave the match early with a Flagrant Foul 2 after a drive to the basket, where he hit Nurkic with his elbow in the face. Paul George then took on more responsibility (27 points, 5 rebounds). Raymond Felton contributed another 15 points and so the Thunder made another comeback. A few minutes before the end, OKC even shortened it to 2 points – a real thriller!
McCollum and George and Westbrook on the other side hammered each other’s threesomes around each other’s ears in the final minutes. A good 30 seconds before the end, Russ was even fouled in an attempt by Downtown – but the Point Guard put all the freebies on the ring (a total of only 2/7 FT)! So it was “Big Game Dame”who brought the game home from the free-throw line.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
Damian Lillard. The Point Guard delivered another great match. With his inimitable drives he brought the Thunder-Defense to the basket again and again to despair. It proved to be extremely effective within the three-line. Of his two-point throws, 9 out of 13 landed in the basket. For this he worked out 15 trips to the free-throw line, all of which he safely transformed. The only reproach: From downtown it didn’t go very well this time (1/5 threesome).
Steven Adams. The New Zealander was not a factor at all (xx points, 2/3 FG, 4 turnovers) and he was also not able to convince defensively. Both against Nurkic and Lillard after switches or as a help, Adams was presented one after the other.
You might not believe it, but Adams was a real problem in the defensive of the Thunder. Adams couldn’t do much against Jusuf Nurkic’s fast feet and his soft wrist. The Blazers attacked the zone over and over again and served their Big Man, who was also very dangerous from the post office. If it wasn’t Nurkic, it was mostly Lillard who turned around Adam with quick movements and pulled to the basket. By the midway point, Portland had 26 points in the zone (OKC: 18). In the end there were 48 strong points in the paint.