I believe I predicted the Blazers going 2-2 on this hellish road trip and I think everyone else thought the same way. Unfortunately, the Blazers will have to settle for 2-2 as the Oklahoma City Thunder got revenge by beating Portland 105-97 on Tuesday night.

This game was a classic case of Durant being in another world. In his last 10 games, Durant has averaged 36.1 points. Yes, 36.1. Durant, almost calmly, dropped 46 points on 17-for-25 shooting and a blistering 6-for-7 from three. Nicolas Batum is a good defender, but I do not think anybody could have stopped Durant tonight. The range and the confidence on all of his shots made it seem like every single shot he threw up would go in.

The Blazers started off with a hop to their step as they attempted to erase the bad memories of the Houston game. Jumping right out of the gate, the Blazers surged to an 11-2 lead in the first quarter. The Blazers were making shots, but the effort meter was turned up substantially. Portland seemed to be going for loose balls with a lot more effort and intention and they wanted to send a message early that they wouldn’t be so easily beaten. The rest of the game, however, slowly slipped into the Thunder’s favor. They outscored Portland by five in the second quarter, outscored them by three in the third quarter and outscored them by six in the fourth quarter.

Another storyline was Nicolas Batum. After getting his already broken middle finger caught while playing in the Houston game, there was a question of whether or not he could play. The finger swelled to the point of needing a new, custom splint. Fortunately, Portland had the materials on hand, but the question still remained if he could play through the pain as he had the toughest assignment of the night. He ultimately gave it a go. His presence was felt on the defensive end as Batum only attempted four shots all night. Batum did a good job of denying Durant the ball as much as he could, but once Durant got the ball you might as well just walk to the other end of the court. I do not blame Batum at all. Some Blazer fans might, but Batum did fine for the position he was in tonight.

This game looked promising for Portland. LaMarcus Aldridge was hitting shots from ridiculous range, Wesley Matthews was hitting from three and Mo Williams was in a rhythm. Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter, Portland couldn’t quite put all the pieces together. LA went 1-for-8 in the quarter and the Thunder just pounced. The Blazer fan in me says that this game was ours and we should have gone 3-1 on this road trip, however, the analyst in me says that 2-2 is pretty darn good. The Blazers can now return to the Moda Center looking for a little revenge.

It is scary how similar the stats are between these two teams. Both teams had 45 rebounds, the Blazers outscored the Thunder in the points in the paint stat by just two, Portland only had two extra turnovers that OKC and the FT line was not being kind to either team. Portland went 10-for-16 and shot just 63% from the line while the Thunder went 11-for-17 and shot just 65% from the line. Much like the previous matchup, the FT line was not a friend for some reason.

LaMarcus Aldridge put together another dominant performance, but it is just unfortunate that there was a lid on the basket in the fourth quarter. He finished the night with 29 points on 12-for-26 shooting and 16 rebounds. You might as well pencil in 25 points and 13 rebounds from LA. The Thunder tried a different strategy and put Serge Ibaka on him instead of Perkins. Ibaka worked better, but LA was still able to get his points. There was even a section of the game where Perkins was on him and we all know how that usually turns out.

Wesley Matthews had a good shooting night finishing with 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting, 4-for-8 from three, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. When Wesley had open threes he usually knocked them down tonight. He post-up game is becoming more and more apparent as this season goes on and it just makes him that much harder to deal with.

Damian Lillard had a quiet night finishing with 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting, 0-for-5 from three and 4 assists. Thabo Sefolosha had the job of guarding him and did a fantastic job making it difficult for Lillard to get open or move around.

This game was just disappointing. Portland came out with such great effort and it sustained for most of the game. Unfortunately, Durant said enough and the game was over. The Blazers will get a nice day-off before facing the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at the Moda Center at 7:30 p.m. PST. It has been a while since the Blazers have faced the Nuggets, but if that game is any indication, then the Blazers should have a good chance to get back on track. Stay tuned!