The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have to worry about sweating out another harrowing “clutch-time” game Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
The best team in the NBA buried the Blazers waaaaaaay before that.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pummeled Portland from the first shot to the last at Paycom Center, breezing to a 124-95 victory before 18,203 on New Year’s Eve.
“We know who we just played against,” Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter told reporters after the game. “One of the best teams in the league right now and they showed tonight who they are.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points, six assists and four steals, Chet Holmgren recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, and Ajay Mitchell added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
But Oklahoma City (29-5) cruised to another convincing victory on the back of its vaunted defense, which entered the game leading the NBA in defensive rating (105.0) and net rating (13.8) and was every bit as good as advertised against the Blazers (14-20).
The Thunder forced a whopping 25 turnovers, held Portland to 39% shooting from the field, snatched 15 steals and recorded 10 blocks in a suffocating performance that ended with the Blazers equaling their season-low in points scored.
Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams locked down Blazers guards on the perimeter, Holmgren was a menace in the middle and the Thunder’s physical style overwhelmed Portland all over the court.
The Blazers were held without a 20-point scorer for the first time this season.
“We turned over the ball too many times and they got easy baskets after that,” Splitter told reporters. “We just couldn’t get past their pressure. And they have great rim protectors out there at the rim.
“We tried different things, but you’ve got to be perfect to beat them. You’ve got to be perfect on offense, on defense, and we didn’t have it there tonight.”
There was a glimmer of hope late in the second quarter that the Blazers might keep things interesting. After Shaedon Sharpe capped a 9-0 Blazers run with back-to-back steals and fast-break buckets, a double-digit Thunder lead had been reduced to 60-53.
But Oklahoma City responded emphatically, outscoring the Blazers 13-2 over the final 2:23 of the first half, and it was all Thunder the rest of the way. Oklahoma City blew things open early in the second half, taking a 22-point lead on a Dort three-pointer just 90 seconds into the third quarter.
It led by at least 21 points the rest of the night.
The 29-point defeat was not only the Blazers’ most lopsided of the season, but also a rare blowout for a team that has played 22 games featuring “clutch-time” minutes, second-most in the NBA.
Sidy Cissoko led the Blazers with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-7 from three-point range. And Deni Avdija powered through constant double teams to finish with 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, but he made just 5 of 17 shots.
Perhaps the only good news Wednesday was that the Blazers faced the Thunder for the fourth and final time this season, so they won’t have to grapple with the NBA’s deepest and most formidable team again until the 2026-27 season.
Next up
The Blazers play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday at 5 p.m. at Smoothie King Center.