The OKC Thunder were losers of three straight going into Monday night’s game with the Portland Trail Blazers. January was always going to be difficult for Oklahoma City with games scheduled against most of the Western Conference powerhouses.
This is tank season, despite some fans’ disapproval.
We’re here for it.
What most didn’t expect was for the Thunder to hold on for a big-time win in a down-to-the-wire 125-122 thriller over the Blazers.
The big win for the Thunder came just one day after a new Adidas shoe for Damian Lillard was unveiled that commemorates his 50 points, seven rebounds, and six assists stat-line in a 118-115 win that eliminated the OKC Thunder from the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs.
In Monday’s game, Lillard spent his time locked up by Luguentz Dort, and it was Dort’s defense down the stretch that kept Lillard from breaking free and stealing the game away from the Thunder.
OKC Thunder refuse to give up in big win
After erupting for a season-high 34 points in the first quarter, the OKC Thunder, who led by as many as 17 in the first, started to see their lead melt away.
The Blazers closed out the first on a 9-2 run to pull within 10 points as time expired.
Portland began the second quarter just as hot, getting as close as two points before a Mike Muscala 3-pointer put the Thunder back in control.
The Thunder rebuilt their lead to go into the break up 69-60.
The third quarter saw the Blazers come out on a 12-3 run to tie the game at 72. From that point forward, the teams matched each other almost shot-for-shot and the Thunder went into the fourth quarter with a narrow 94-91 lead.
The Blazers briefly took the lead, 95-94, in the fourth quarter on a 2-point fadeaway jumper from Carmelo Anthony before the Thunder regained their footing and surged ahead to lead by as many as 10 points with five minutes remaining in the game.
That’s when Dort locked in and shut Lillard down.
Lillard missed four 3-pointers in the final five minutes before nailing one to pull the Blazers within three. Although the final 15 seconds seemed to roll on forever, the Thunder did eventually hold off the Blazers for the win.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 24 points on 66.7 percent shooting. He also pulled down nine rebounds, had six assists, one steal, and two blocks.
Muscala had 24 points, hitting six of his 10 shots from 3-point range.
Darius Bazley had 19 points on 54 percent shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
From Dort’s defense to the bench’s dominance, there was no shortage of big-time moments from this Thunder team.
Here are TI’s 3 takeaways:
OKC Thunder takeaway No. 1) Dort’s defense gave Thunder the win
Dort’s last two games haven’t been his best. With four points in the loss to the Clippers and just seven points against the Blazers, it’s evident he’s been facing a bit of a struggle offensively.
While Dort has proven himself to be one of the Thunder’s biggest scoring threats this season, there will be games where he’s better off deferring to a teammate.
However, Dort’s value for the Thunder has risen so much, in part, because of his defense. That was on full display Monday.
His impact cannot be understated.
Lillard gave it his all over the last 30 seconds of the game but could not shake Dort who pestered him into throwing up errant shot after errant shot and kept the sharpshooter from finding his comfort zone.
For the game, Lillard scored 26 points but it took him 22 shots to get there. He shot 36.4 percent overall and just 25 percent from 3-point range, making just three of his 12 attempts.
The OKC Thunder wanted this win, and Dort’s defense in the fourth quarter delivered it to them.