Coming off a massive road win in Miami, the Oklahoma City Thunder returned home as it took on the Portland Trailblazers.
OKC and Portland are in different stages on the rebuilding timeline, and Thursday’s game made that clear, as the Thunder easily disposed of the Trailblazers 139-77, marking the largest margin of victory in Oklahoma City Thunder history.
The Thunder pulled away early in the contest, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren leading a dominant effort that saw OKC take a 36-24 lead into the second quarter. After a terrific game against Miami, Holmgren capitalized on a lackluster group of bigs for the Blazers, scoring ten in the opening quarter.
OKC continued to establish itself as the better team in the second, stretching the lead out to 30+ points despite shooting a dismal 2-12 from three.
Despite the shooting woes, OKC’s prowess inside allowed them to take a massive 75-39 lead into the half.
The third brought more of the same, with the Thunder expanding its lead to upwards of 60 points, with an array of players chipping on offensively.
OKC called off the dogs with five minute remaining, inserting a lineup of Keyonte Johnson, Cason Wallace, Ousmane Deing, Tre Mann, and Jaylin Williams. Despite the general inexperience of the lineup, OKC continued to expand the lead, eventually extending it to 118-56 as the quarter ended.
As one can imagine, OKC’s starters were done for the night, and the Thunder easily secured a win over an outmatched Blazers squad by a final score of 139-77.
It is hard to take too much from a game like this, but OKC rediscovering it’s ability to toss around terrible opponents is a positive development, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP case improves with each passing game.
OKC is back in action on Saturday as it takes on the Orlando Magic, and two of the NBA’s best young teams clash.
