OKC takes down Portland on road, maintains undefeated record

Keeping its undefeated streak alive, the OKC Thunder defeated the Portland Trailblazers by a final score of 137-14. With the hard-fought road win, OKC improves to 5-0, while Portland drops to 2-3.

OKC’s final result hinged on the performances of forward Jalen Williams and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with Williams finishing with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Gilgeous-Alexander with 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and forward Chet Holmgren helped the Thunder jump out to a quick lead, seemingly giving the contest a blowout. That wouldn’t be the case, but the fast start for OKC was certainly helpful.

The first quarter went as well as it could for OKC, eventually leading 37-24. With 9:32 left in the second quarter, OKC appeared to run away with it, leading 44-29. Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC’s bench depth scored effectively on offense and limited what Portland could do through its defense. The Trailblazers rotated a turnover midway through the quarter, led by center DeAndre Ayton, forward Deni Avdija and guard Anfernee Simons.

Portland’s trio brought the game to within three points near the end of the quarter and took the lead thanks to a triple from sophomore guard Scoot Henderson. He didn’t have his best game in the early season, finishing with just eight points on ineffective 3-for-8 shooting. The former second-overall pick is now coming off the bench for Portland, looking to reclaim his role as a starter.

The two battled back and forth for most of the third quarter, and OKC kept trying to pull away but couldn’t pull it off. OKC’s defense, arguably the best in the NBA to start the new season, absolutely struggled in this third quarter to stop Portland’s scoring. The Trailblazers are loaded with talented isolation scorers and made it known in the third quarter, thanks to the likes of Simons and forward Jerami Grant.

Two-point buckets from forward Lu Dort and guard Aaron Wiggins finally gave OKC a cushion, leading 87-78 with 4:15 left. After that point, the Thunder began to look to the offense to increase its lead. They scored 19 points in the final four minutes of the quarter to extend their lead to 21 points, putting the game well out of reach for Portland to fight back.

In classic blowout fashion, OKC emptied its bench in the fourth quarter. Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace became the two leaders on the court and continued to add to the lead with help from rookie guard Ajay Mitchell and forward Ousmane Dieng.

Recent signee Malevy Leons, the former Bradley Brave, got his first regular season action late in the quarter. He finished with just one rebound and one assist in two minutes, still gaining valuable experience.

Another of OKC’s rookies, forward Dillon Jones, saw the floor against Portland. He has struggled to get through the Thunder’s first four games and made the most of it, finishing with five points and two boards on 2-for-3 shooting.

Leading the way for Portland was Grant, who had 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Off the bench for Portland, French guard Rayan Rupert had 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting in just 20 minutes of playing time.

After improving to 5-0 on the season, OKC will play the Los Angeles Clippers at 9:30 PM PDT on Saturday, November 2nd at the Intuit Dome.

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.