The Portland Trail Blazers completed a two-game sweep of the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 118-108 victory on Wednesday night at Moda Center, one night after beating the same team 123-103. Deni Avdija finished with 28 points, six assists and four steals, and Portland closed the game with a decisive fourth-quarter run to move to 8-3 and fourth in the Western Conference.
The rematch demanded something different from Tuesday’s blowout. Portland led by as many as 12 in the third quarter, but Oklahoma City fought back and briefly moved ahead 92-88 early in the fourth. The Blazers answered with a 13-2 run, finished by a Damian Lillard bucket that put Portland up 108-100 with 2:02 to play, and the Thunder never recovered. Avdija and Lillard combined for 20 of Portland’s 30 fourth-quarter points.
Balanced Blazers overwhelm the Thunder
Lillard added 18 points, while Jrue Holiday and Sidy Cissoko each scored 19, giving Portland the support it needed to close out the win. The Blazers made 19 three-pointers and finished plus-24 from beyond the arc, with 34 bench points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with a game-high 31 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein added 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, but the Thunder fell to 8-4 and seventh in the West after a second straight loss — having arrived in Portland on a four-game winning streak.
The sweep is a statement for a Portland team that had beaten Oklahoma City only once in the previous 21 meetings before this week. On Tuesday, Lillard scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter as the Blazers outscored the Thunder 38-21 in the period to open up a 17-point lead, with Avdija adding 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Williams available as rotation holds up
Reserve centre Robert Williams III, who typically sits out at least one game during back-to-backs as a precaution, was listed as available for the second leg of the back-to-back and played his part in the win. Williams had played only 15 minutes in Tuesday’s victory, producing six points and four rebounds on perfect shooting from the field. Portland now begins a six-game road trip on Friday night in Sacramento against the Kings, while the Thunder try to bounce back on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Lillard turned back the clock as the Blazers stunned the Thunder 123-103 on Tuesday, and George dropped 36 as the Celtics toppled the 76ers for the East lead.
