PORTLAND, OR – On a stormy Wednesday night, the Trail Blazers rained on the Thunder‘s parade.
OKC suffered a 121-119 loss at the hands of Portland. It held a 22-point lead in the first half, only to watch the Trail Blazers complete the comeback with a flurry of fourth-quarter points.
The Thunder is now 8-1, snapping its record for the best start to a season. It fell short in a game where it was even more short-handed than usual.
Chet Holmgren (lower back sprain), Lu Dort (right upper trap strain) and Alex Caruso (rest) were unavailable on the second night of a back to back.
“I thought we had a chance to control the game, and we had some stretches that were pretty costly,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “Too many free throws. Too many open ones. Too many easy ones. … I was proud of the effort. I thought the guys really tried to grit it out and gave ourselves a chance down the stretch, but we didn’t execute enough to win.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
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Thunder’s powerful paint defense was negated by fouls
Jaylin Williams was still sporting a bandage above his swollen left eye, covering three stitches he’d received after taking an elbow to the face against the Los Angeles Clippers the night before.
And yet he had no issue staring Donovan Clingan down in the final minute of the first quarter. When the Trail Blazers’ 7-foot-2 center elevated for a chip shot, the Thunder’s chippy 6-9 forward elevated even higher for an emphatic block.
Williams flexed his muscles as the ball bounced out of bounds. He then mean-mugged the crowd, which was extra menacing with his bandaged and bruised face.
Williams wasn’t OKC’s only punishing paint protector. The Thunder allowed a league-low average of 39 points in the paint entering Wednesday, and it dominated in that department early on. It dogpiled drivers, swiped at the basketball and even rejected the occasional shot.
OKC held Portland to 32 points in the paint as a result. The Trail Blazers only shot 17 for 45 from inside the arc (37.8%).
But even though Portland couldn’t draw up many plays to score around the rim, it did manage to draw fouls at will. OKC committed 27 fouls, and Portland went 30 for 32 from the free-throw line.
“They didn’t score in the paint, but they got in there enough to get fouled,” Daigneault said. “We just weren’t sharp enough on that end. Tonight, they were the aggressor. I thought getting us into the bonus and into foul trouble put us at a disadvantage, and they attacked us all night. Again, credit them. They played really well.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shakes off slow start
When you need to get hot, get to your spot.
That’s exactly what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did after failing to make a shot during the first quarter. The reigning scoring champ found a rhythm in the second by finding his way to the baseline, where he has decimated countless defenders throughout his career.
The latest victim proved to be Toumani Camara, an All-Defensive second team forward with limbs as long as the trees in Portland’s Forest Park. But even he couldn’t deflect Gilgeous-Alexander’s turnaround jumper, which dropped through the rim.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the second quarter and ultimately finished the night with 35 points. He also added nine rebounds and four assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored at least 20 points in 81 consecutive regular-season games. He only trails Wilt Chamberlain, who had two streaks of 126 games and 92 games, on the all-time list.
Jrue Holiday, Trail Blazers torched the Thunder from deep
Jrue Holiday held his right hand in the air to prove his shooting form was pure, but it’s not like he needed to.
The results spoke for themselves.
On a night when the paint was barricaded by Thunder bodies, Holiday found another way to score. He racked up 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting from deep (60%), and his biggest triple came with 2:48 left in the game.
Holiday hit Gilgeous-Alexander with a stepback and launched a 3-pointer over the reigning MVP. It found the bottom of the net, giving the Trail Blazers a 112-104 lead.
The rest of the Portland’s shooters also showed up, as the team went a blistering 19 for 43 from deep (44.2%). Six of those makes came in the fourth quarter while OKC’s defense unraveled.
Tip-insAjay Mitchell on starting against fellow Belgian player Toumani Camara: “It was great. … Obviously, Toumani is a great player. It’s fun to go against him.”Aaron Wiggins scored 27 points in what marked his fifth start of the season. He went 7 for 10 from deep (70%).Cason Wallace recorded three steals to go along with his five points, eight rebounds and five assists. The third-year guard leads the NBA in total steals (22) this season.
Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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