Thunder vs. Trail Blazers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
The Portland Trail Blazers couldn't contain Russell Westbrook for three quarters, but they made plays when needed Thursday night.
Even though the Oklahoma City Thunder star scored 45 points, a more balanced effort from the Blazers helped them come away with a 114-109 home win.
Jusuf Nurkic was a breakout performer in his first home game at the Moda Center, filling up the stat sheet with 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
The team noted the rarity of this type of effort:
Meanwhile, Westbrook had 40 points through the first three quarters to help his team take the lead. Unfortunately, he went 2-of-11 from the field in the fourth quarter, missing a potential game-tying three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.
He broke his streak of three straight triple-doubles, although he continued another impressive run, per ESPN Stats and Info:
Oklahoma City's first loss since Feb. 13 dropped the team to 35-26 on the season. Portland moves up to 25-35, winning its first game in March after a 2-7 month of February.
The Blazers got off to a fast start with as much as a 12-point lead in the first quarter. Damian Lillard seemed to be trying to match his point guard counterpart with passes like this:
Lillard had 10 points in the first quarter, finishing with a team-high 33 on the game.
However, solid play from Taj Gibson off the bench helped the Thunder cut the lead to 26-24 after the first.
His most impressive points of the day, without question, came at the halftime buzzer:
Portland appeared ready to go into the half with a lead, up nine with just over a minute remaining. However, Gibson's three-pointer capped off a 12-0 run for the Thunder to end the second quarter, giving them a 60-57 advantage. Westbrook was responsible for the other nine points in this stretch to bring his halftime total to 27.
The rest of the Oklahoma City starters combined for just four points at intermission.
Westbrook kept up his scoring with a couple of quick threes in the third quarter, and he and Lillard were matching shot for shot.
Even Reggie Miller was impressed by the performance, via Turner Sports:
Former NFL star Michael Vick was more disappointed in his teammates than anything else:
Westbrook's effort was enough to help the Thunder earn an 85-81 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City also got some more bench help in the form of Enes Kanter, who totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds on the night while going plus-15 on the court. Fellow center Steven Adams was minus-23 in the game.
Still, the Blazers never let the game get away from them, with Nurkic doing a lot of damage on both ends of the court.
Down 101-94 with just under six minutes left, Portland played excellent defense and simply out-hustled the Thunder to take over the game with a 16-0 run.
This three-pointer from Lillard gave the squad some breathing room:
The Thunder made things interesting when Alex Abrines cut the lead to one with 17 seconds left, but a missed Westbrook shot and made free throws on the other end put the game away.
After busy stretches for both teams, the schedule lightens up a bit in the coming days.
Oklahoma City will take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday before finishing up the road trip with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Portland will stay home and host the last-place Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
With both teams looking to climb the standings, the weak upcoming competition could be a great opportunity.
Postgame Reaction
Nurkic explained his enjoyment playing for his new team after the game:
"[Nurkic] gives us something we haven't had the past two years," Lillard said of the former Denver Nuggets center, per CSN Northwest. "Hitting guys on the cut...one-on-one, he's scoring."
Blazers coach Terry Stotts complimented both of his top performers after the game.
"Dame did what Dame does—and Jusuf was terrific," Stotts said, per Jason Quick of CSN Northwest. "[Jusuf] had a big impact on the game—rebounding, blocked shots, passing."
While Portland still has room to go to move into a playoff spot, playing like this against quality teams will go a long way toward that goal.
