3 Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's narrow win over the Portland Trailblazers
OKC Thunder pulled off a late-game comeback to beat Portland and become the top seed in the Western Conference. 3 Takeaways from this contest.
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.