Blazers' Problems Highlighted as Thunder Star Sets Franchise Record in Win

Matt Levine

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
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The Portland Trail Blazers dropped a tough game to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night by a score of 109-99. The Trail Blazers hung around with one of the better teams in the entire NBA but fell short of coming away with the upset.

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In the game, Portland saw the return of a key piece for the Thunder, leading to their eventual loss.

Brody Bitters of Sporting News wrote about the game and how Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein recorded a franchise record against the Trail Blazers.

"Hartenstein would end the game with 13 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, which is a Thunder franchise record for a debut game. Having Hartenstein back is massive for OKC as they no longer have to rely on their small ball lineups and can go back to their original play styles knowing they have their big man down low locking it down."

Hartenstein recording a franchise record in his season debut for the Thunder is unfortunate for the Trail Blazers considering that they were able to play tough against Oklahoma City. Portland entered the season with the expectation of being a bottom team in the Western Conference once again but they have looked much better than expected.

Part of why the Trail Blazers lost to the Thunder were the 24 turnovers that they committed. Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups spoke about this after the fact, highlighting the turnovers as a reason for the loss.

“I was proud of us,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups told reporters at Paycom Center. “We played hard. We really did. End of the day, 24 turnovers is hard to overcome. Especially against a really good team.”

Portland did all they could against a tough Thunder team but they will need to clean things up moving forward. The Trail Blazers own a record of 6-9 for the season and could potentially compete for a playoff spot if they keep going strong.

It may be unlikely but stranger things have happened before. Portland has a good energy to it right now and the young players are feeding off one another on the court, leading to more competitive play.

If they can keep this level of effort up, they could surprise some in the West this season.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

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