Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Oklahoma City Thunder avoided falling for a textbook trap game in their 134-91 blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
After picking up a season-defining win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the Thunder avoided any potential hangover by taking care of business against a short-handed Trail Blazers.
“I just thought we played to our identity regardless of the circumstance and regardless of who was on the floor,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “Which is a testament to the guys and then also the guys who’ve kept themselves sharp that haven’t gotten as many minutes.”
The Thunder had a hot start as they led, 33-21, after one quarter. That lead ballooned to 76-43 thanks to a 43-point second quarter. OKC’s scoring efficiency in the first half reached historic levels. Its 88.5 true-shooting percentage marked the best shooting first half in the league since 2020.
“It felt good,” Lu Dort said on the first half. “It’s just the trust that we have in this team and how we moving the ball and we’re so comfortable playing together.”
Any faint hopes of a miraculous comeback by Portland were quickly squashed by OKC with a 25-point third quarter that actually extended its lead to 35 points entering the final frame.
“I thought we showed great maturity, great discipline to the zero-to-zero mindset,” Daigneault said on OKC’s fast start. “I thought our execution to the game plan early really set the tone to the game.”
Overall, the Thunder shot 61% from the field. OKC also had a season-high 22-of-36 (61.1%) night from 3. It also went 14-of-14 from the free-throw line.
The historic offense production marked the first time a team finished with a 60-60-100 shooting night for a game in the last 25 years.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an easy 28 points on 13 shots. Chet Holmgren continues to build on his best game yet with 16 points and six rebounds.
Considering this was the third road game in four nights, OKC elected to lengthen its usual rotation by playing all 15 available players. This included 11 players in the first quarter.
The Trail Blazers being one of the worst teams in the league increased OKC’s margin of error and allowed Daigneault to experiment a bit and play the end-of-bench guys early minutes.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are playing for lottery balls. Portland’s lengthy injury report confirmed that as No. 3 picked rookie Scoot Henderson headlined the abnormal number of absences.
Portland shot 40% from the field and went 9-of-34 (26.5%) from 3. It also committed 17 turnovers that resulted in 29 points for the Thunder.
The Trail Blazers were led by Jerami Grant, who finished with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Deandre Ayton had 11 points and five rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting
Outside of enjoying the obvious blowout win, OKC not sleeping on the Trail Blazers afforded it the luxury to rest their starters for 1.5 quarters in the second half. That was a huge gift considering this was the third road game in four nights.
“We just got to keep it rolling,” Dort said on OKC’s 10-4 start. “It’s a long season. We have a lot of games left. We can’t get comfortable. We got to get more.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
This was light work for the All-NBA guard against one of the worst teams in the league.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. He shot 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Due to the lopsided score, he was limited to a season-low 23 minutes — an incredible gift for someone averaging 35 minutes a game.
The 25-year-old expectedly toyed with a Portland roster filled with young prospects and borderline NBA players. Gilgeous-Alexander danced with the basketball each time he had the chance to go to the bucket and went 8-of-11 inside of the paint.
SGA spinning and finishing 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/RuNUhbeYDA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 20, 2023
Chet Holmgren: B
Following a career-high 36 points a day prior, Holmgren turned in another solid performance against the lowly Trail Blazers.
In 20 minutes, Holmgren finished with 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and two blocks. He went 2-of-2 from 3. This effort included a dominating second quarter in which he scored 13 points to help OKC put this game to bed.
Facing Ayton, Holmgren did a great job limiting the former first-overall pick to 11 points and five rebounds.
“He’s gaining confidence as the pictures are predictable,” Daigneault said on Holmgren’s recent play. “You can only get played so many ways. You can only see so many coverages, and he’s starting to pick that up a little bit.”
Spin cycle 🔛 pic.twitter.com/c92ZgSlTuj
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 20, 2023
Isaiah Joe: A-minus
It’s been a successful road trip for Joe, who has established himself as one of the Thunder’s top bench-scoring options.
Against the Trail Blazers, Joe scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3 in 14 minutes. He was a plus-20 in his limited time on the court. The sharpshooter scored nine points on all 3-pointers in the second quarter to aid in OKC’s 43-point period.
“Everybody took it upon themselves to be a pro and just get themselves ready for today’s game,” Joe said on the win. “We treated it as any other game. It didn’t even seem like it was a back-to-back.”
Joe continues to provide OKC with microwave scoring and spacing off the bench as one of the best 3-point shooters on the roster.
“He’s a pro,” Daigneault said on Joe. “Great consistency. Great identity as a player. You know exactly what you’re getting.”
Zai on 🔥
4/4 from 3️⃣#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/48ZFhFlG2y
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) November 20, 2023
Footwork on the step 🔙 pic.twitter.com/EfDI40JdD1
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 20, 2023
Aaron Wiggins: B
Playing a career-low in minutes, Aaron Wiggins was a benefactor of Jalen Williams’ absence — who missed the game with a hip strain — and the second half.
In 16 minutes, Wiggins finished with a season-high 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and three steals. He went 2-of-3 from 3.
OKC’s tremendous depth has caused the third-year forward to be on the outside of the rotation thus far, but that speaks more about the team’s talent than it does about Wiggins.
In an 82-game season, I’m sure Wiggins’ name will be called in a more consequential manner, but this blowout win helped provide him with some valuable minutes to knock off any rust.
