(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Wrath.
The Portland Trail Blazers surely suffered the Oklahoma City Thunder’s on Monday night. Portland, desperate for any sort of run or consistency, was stuck watching the Thunder do no wrong on both ends, leading to another blowout defeat.
The Blazers get routed by the Thunder 128-94. The Blazers fall to 35-33, while the Thunder, fresh off a home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, improve to 45-22.
Portland has had its fair share of games where there has been a little bit of extra emotion behind it. A revenge game, a returning or, in this case, a team getting ridiculed by their home media and fans, nothing will charge a team up more than criticism from their fans. And, that’s what Portland witnessed tonight.
Outside of a nice stretch in the first quarter where Portland was feeling good, the Thunder completely mauled the Blazers on both ends and slowly turned into one of those games where every shot went through and every 50/50 ball went Oklahoma City’s way.
On the other end fans saw a Trail Blazer team struggling to find their foundation. It seemed no matter what line-up head coach Terry Stotts went with, big or small, it did not seem to matter. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were not having it. This was a must-win game for the Thunder in terms of morale and sending a message. The Blazers just happened to be in their crosshairs.
The Blazers built a respectable six-point lead in the first quarter, Al-Farouq Aminu had ten points on 3-of-5 shooting, 2-of-4 from three and the Blazers swished four three-pointers in the quarter. To put it into perspective, the Blazers made just seven three-pointers in the game.
In the last four and a half minutes of the first quarter, the Thunder exploded on a 15-0 run to end the quarter. A rejuvenated and determined Durant and Westbrook tore up Portland’s defense despite Portland putting a lot of emphasis on transition defense and pushing the tempo. The Blazers bit off more than they could chew in that regard.
Westbrook was one rebound shy of a triple-double in the first half scoring ten points on 5-of-6 shooting, dishing out 11 assists and nabbing nine rebounds. While the Blazers held the Thunder to just eight fast-break points at the half, the Thunder were shooting 56 percent from the field and had 17 assists to the Blazers’ nine.
While the Thunder have been absolutely abysmal in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, it did not seem to matter. The thunder scored 36 more points in the third, following up their 35-point second quarter. Portland’s defense was there, but the Thunder were hitting bad shots and weird tip-ins. When it seemed like the tide might stop, Oklahoma City got into the open court and swished an open three-pointer or converted on a three-point opportunity.
Oklahoma City on the night shot 59 percent from the field and 53 percent from three, while grabbing 52 rebounds to Portland’s 39 and having a whopping 31 assists. The Blazers got a taste of their own medicine after what they did to Orlando two nights prior.
The Thunder’s bench completely dominated Portland’s as Enes Kanter went for 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while going perfect from the foul line. Randy Foye dropped 11 points, while Cameron Payne and Kyle Singler combined for ten. None of Portland’s bench players scored in double figures and the trio of Meyers Leonard, Allen Crabbe and Ed Davis was just 3-of-14 with a combined nine points.
Damian Lillard finished the night with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 3-of-6 from three, but sat out the fourth quarter. C.J. McCollum, after going 2-of-4 in the first, was just 5-of-17 on the night with 15 points.
It seems to be a feast or famine when it comes to the Trail Blazers lately, a Golden State blowout, followed by a stomping of the Magic, followed by getting routed by the Thunder. Whatever the case, Portland’s hold on the sixth seed is slipping and it does not get any easier despite having two days off.
The Blazers head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs who are having an absolute stellar year and remain undefeated at home with a record of 32-0. Tip-off is on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. PST.
Stay tuned!
