Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's 43-Point Win Over the Portland Trail Blazers
It was a blowout in Portland Sunday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers 134-91, completely dismantling a struggling Portland roster tied for the bottom of the Western Conference.
It was over by halftime, as the Thunder led 76-43 heading out of the second quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, continuing his dominance on the offensive end after his 40-point performance against the Golden State Warriors.
Oklahoma City is now on a five-game winning streak, finding itself as the second best team in the West.
Here are three takeaways from the dominant win:
Chet Holmgren (7) and Jerami Grant (9)
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Efficient Offense
The Thunder offense has been on an absolute tear the past week.
Oklahoma City has scored over 120 points in its last four games, defeating the Spurs, the Warriors twice, and the Trail Blazers. The likes of Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren have not only been scoring high point totals, but have been doing it efficiently.
In the win over Portland, the Thunder shot 60.5% from the field and 61% from 3-point range, becoming borderline unstoppable for the Trail Blazer defense. Holmgren scored 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, while Isaiah Joe continued his 3-point dominance by shooting 5-of-6 behind the arc.
This incredible offensive stretch has catapulted Oklahoma City into the top of the Western Conference, proving that it doesn't have to rely on its superstar guard only to generate high-level offense.
Strong Bench Unit
A true playoff contender has to have a strong bench unit, and the Thunder benched showcased what it can provide last night.
Due to the nature of the score throughout the contest, the Thunder bench was given the opportunity to receive a substantial amount of minutes after head coach Mark Daigneault pulled his starters during the third quarter.
With that opportunity, the 10 players that played off the bench combined for 70 points. The standout was Joe's 15 points, but Aaron Wiggins and Lindy Waters III also provided 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting respectively.
Oklahoma City has a fairly deep roster, and finally had the chance to really play out its whole roster. The likes of Wiggins, Waters and Aleksej Pokusevski took most advantage of the chance, making a statement to Daigneault for future consideration of more minutes in the rotation.
Ability to Win on the Road
The most difficult games for sports teams to win are usually on the road, but the season has been quite the opposite of that for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder has a 4-3 record at home, while attaining a 6-1 record on the road. It has proven the ability to steal wins on the opponent's home court, not letting the pressure of an away crowd get to the roster.
Oklahoma City has beaten the Bulls, Cavaliers, Suns, Warriors (twice) and Trail Blazers, featuring mostly tough opponents. Getting those wins is so crucial, separating itself apart from most of the other teams in the NBA.
If this can continue throughout the rest of the season, the Thunder could find itself in a similar position in the Western Conference to where its at now.
The Thunder complete a back-to-back series against the Warriors and Trail Blazers with two wins in impressive fashion, and now head out of the west coast and back home.
Oklahoma City will have a couple of days off before taking on the 5-9 Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 7:00 p.m. CT in Paycom Center.
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