OKC Thunder: 3 takeaways on the Thunder’s big win over the Blazers

OKC Thunder takeaway No. 3) Less mistakes mean more opportunities to win

The Thunder, or any team for that matter, are at their absolute best when they’re taking care of the ball and minimizing mistakes.

For the Thunder, that has been a challenge this season as they’ve found themselves struggling with ball control issues and missed opportunities at the free-throw line.

On Monday, for at least one night, one of those issues appeared to be resolved.

The OKC Thunder turned the ball over just eight times, which is a season-low.

Despite the physicality of the game and Portland clogging the lane, consistently, the Thunder managed to keep control of the ball and prevent the Blazers from having more opportunities to score.

One issue that seemed to linger, however, was the Thunder’s free-throw shooting.

The game was won in the closing seconds despite the Thunder having built strong leads on several different occasions. Part of that has to do with the Thunder’s failures at the free-throw line.

The Thunder took 35 free throws in the game but made just 21 of them. It’s an area in which the team has struggled since the season began.

If the Thunder can minimize their turnovers while converting free-throw attempts, this team could see far more wins in their future.