3 Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's narrow win over the Portland Trailblazers
By Alex Mcewen
If you thought the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to easily thump the Portland Trailblazers by 50-plus after they beat them by 62 the last time they were inside Paycom Center, you were sorely mistaken.
You likely also forgot how the Thunder responded to their record-breaking loss to the Grizzlies by picking up a narrow win roughly one month later, 99-102.
However, the Blazers have other ideas about last night's win, as they have filed an official protest of the game due to an issue with a timeout.
There have been 45 protests in league history, and they are rarely successful, as the last time a team won a protest was in 2008, and the two teams involved replayed the final 52 seconds prior to their next contest.
Once again, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 33 points, followed by Jalen Williams, who scored 19 points and hit the eventual game-winner. Scoot Henderson led the way for the Blazers with 19 points.
One thing that stood out from the stat sheet was the Thunder's foul shooting; they left 10 points at the line, shooting only 18-28 from the charity stripe.
OKC has struggled from the line in their last three contests, and the slippage has caused the once league-leading free throw percentage holders to dip to number two behind the Philadelphia 76ers.