Trail Blazers Top Thunder 83-74

Sunday night in Oklahoma City, the Trail Blazers shook some early cobwebs and finished off the Thunder 83-74.

Steve Blake led Portland with 18 points including 4-of-5 from deep while Brandon Roy finished things off to bring Portland's record to 2-2.

While it's ridiculous to think that a win could be this important so early in the season, the Blazers needed this game. Coming off brutal losses to Denver and Houston, a loss in Oklahoma City would have blown a gasket for a stressed out Portland fan base.

This game had me on a roller coaster of emotion, after the first quarter Portland seemed to have control over this young Oklahoma City team with a commanding 25-13 lead. But after LaMarcus Aldridge went out following a knee contusion, the team seemed to lose control.

The Thunder came within two points by halftime. Brandon Roy was struggling and not getting any calls. He and Nate McMillan were frustrated, and nothing felt right.

Fortunately Steve Blake stayed steady throughout. He was finally back to shooting, and hitting that three-point shot which was so consistent last season. But with the game too close for comfort in the fouth quarter, Brandon Roy played the closer role.

With LaMarcus sidelined following the injury and Roy struggling to get his game going early, it was the little things by the rest of the starters which kept Portland in it.

Greg Oden was very good throughout. He stayed on the boards, battled Etan Thomas and never got into serious foul trouble. Obviously Steve Blake was stellar but Martell Webster also came alive in the third quarter.

Besides hitting two key threes, blocking shots and cramming one down the lane, Webster proved that we can really use his athleticism in the lineup. To have a guy who is running on emotion, is willing to cut and slash, and basically compliment the stars, is critical for this Blazer team.

One other aspect of this win, which has been a problem at times throughout the early season, is the defense.

In this game, minus a few lapses against the dynamic Russel Westbrook, the Blazers were excellent. At times, they were almost overzealous when it came to switching and helping on defense. This bodes well for the future as more is certainly better than less.

Credit has to go out to Martell and his defense on Kevin Durant, who ended up shooting an abysmal 3-for-21 from the field. Part of that is just an off-night for Durant, because he definitely had open looks. But Martell stayed focused and locked on preventing Durant from dropping 40 points. That's really all that matters.

After a few bumps and bruises during the contest, including losing LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers seemed to find a rhythm, which led to a very solid fourth quarter. This was a quality win tonight against a confident young team.

Tuesday Atlanta comes to the Rose City and those games are always fun to watch. Let's hope the Blazers can take advantage at home and get on a little winning streak.

Box Score

For good measure, here's Martell's dunk on Etan Thomas. He's got hops.