Trail Blazers Complete the Two-Game Sweep of the Thunder, 118-108, Behind Deni Avdija's 28
Portland had lost 19 of 20 to Oklahoma City before this week. Avdija's 28 points, six assists and four steals — and his steal-and-dunk with 36.5 seconds left — made it two wins in two nights.
The Portland Trail Blazers spent years losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder — 19 of the last 20 meetings, Reuters noted. This week they beat them twice in two nights. Portland completed the two-game sweep at the Moda Center on Wednesday, 118-108, a night after its 123-103 win in the same building, behind Deni Avdija's 28 points, six assists and four steals.
Portland led 56-50 at halftime, with Avdija scoring 12 before the break, and Oklahoma City kept coming: the Thunder won the third quarter 35-32 and tied the game in the fourth. The separation came in the last three minutes, when Sidy Cissoko and Avdija each made two free throws for a 103-99 lead with 3:10 left, and Avdija then stole the ball and drove in for a dunk that made it 116-106 with 36.5 seconds remaining. Jrue Holiday made five 3-pointers among his 19 points, Cissoko added 19, and Damian Lillard scored 18 for Portland, which improved to 8-3.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 31 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein had a season-best 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting with 11 rebounds and six assists — not enough, for the second straight night, against a Portland team that had been its easiest matchup in the conference.
Oklahoma City's road trip moves on to Los Angeles, where the Thunder visit the Clippers on Friday night. Portland leaves the Moda Center with the week's loudest small sample: a 20-point win and a 10-point win over the team it could not beat, on back-to-back nights.
