Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Bounce Back Win Against Trail Blazers

In the back part of the Oklahoma City Thunder's back-to-back, it was able to get past the Portland Trail Blazers in Isaiah Hartenstein's debut.

Nov 20, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) celebrates after scoring against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Following a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday in which its offense crumbled, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back with a 109-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday night,

The Thunder received a big boost off the bench with the debut of Isaiah Hartenstein, who had missed the rest of the regular season with a fractured hand. Jalen Williams has served as the team's only center through the stretch since Chet Holmgren went down, but now, he gets some relief there.

Three-point shooting has remained tough for Oklahoma City the last couple games — shooting 9-of-31 against Portland — but it put up a strong defensive effort and capatilzed from the free-throw line.

The Thunder now move up to a record of 12-4 and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Here are three takeaways from the 10-point win:

Hartenstein Arrives

"Isaiah motherf---ing Hartenstein" were the words Gilgeous-Alexander used to introduced the newest Thunder signee to the post-game press conference.

Hartenstein may have tried to downplay it, but his debut was worthy of the hype Gilgeous-Alexander brought.

In 29 minutes off the bench, Hartenstein recorded 13 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. He was the rebounding spark Oklahoma City has needed since Holmgren's injury, bringing down five offensive rebounds.

Hartenstein's rebounding and block stats were the most recorded in a Thunder debut, ever.

In every facet of the game, Hartenstein brought something to Oklahoma City. Defense, shot-blocking, rebounding, scoring and even facilitating. He's more in the mold of a traditional center than Holmgren — and obviously Williams — but his skillset is exactly what it lacked last season.

Now that Hartenstein has arrived, the time without Holmgren is going to get a whole lot more manageable.

Williams Keeps Thriving

The days of Williams needing to play center full-time seem to be behind him, but that didn't keep him from continuing to excel in that role against the Trail Blazers.

Williams dropped 30 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. He did a little bit of everything, and he's only gotten better since taking on the starting center spot.

With his peformance over the last couple of weeks, an All-Star selection seems to be in the cards for Williams. The forward has taken a huge leap with added responsibility in his third season, helping the Thunder jump over hurdles and continue its trajectory of competing for a championship.

Hartenstein's debut could mean that Williams slides back to the power forward position for the majority of games, but with how exceptional he's been at center, coach Mark Daigneault will likely keep him there in certain lineups.

Caurso Finds His Stride

Since the regular season began, Alex Caruso has struggled to find a rhythm offensively. He's been the elite defender as advertised, but the 40% clip from behind the arc of last season hasn't been seen — shooting just 29% from the field and 19% from three through 12 games.

Wednesday night, a noticeable shift took place. In 15 minutes of action, Caruso scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. He only took two attempts from the 3-pointer — making one of them — but it was still an encouraging offensive output.

Caruso's defense has kept him playing a pivotal role off the bench for Oklahoma City, but his poor efficiency has hurt his effectiveness on the court. Ideally, this could be the start for him getting back on track offensively and giving the Thunder a boost in scoring.

However, Caruso did leave the game early due to a re-aggravated right hip injury after a hard fall. He didn't return for the rest of the night, and his status won't be updated until the injury report.

Depending on how long Caruso is out for, it could hurt the potential of him finding his shot again. But with the glimpses of offense that he displayed against the Trail Blazers, he's certainly closer to getting there than before.

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