Thunder falls behind
Trail Blazers’ 117-106 win puts Portland ahead of OKC in the Western Conference.
Few fans with courtside seats had even made it back to the floor. The third quarter started, the Thunder’s offensive rhythm was momentarily back and only Russell Westbrook’s brother, Ray, was there in the middle of 18 empty seats, offering a fist pump as his older sibling whipped an assist to Steven Adams.
By the time all of those fans made it back to their seats, however, Portland had found a rhythm of its own. Clad in all red jerseys, the Blazers ran through the Thunder’s scattered defense like fire, even without its leading scorer Damian Lillard.
In the Thunder’s 117106 loss to Portland — its fourth loss in its last six games — its defense was exposed yet again in an all-too-familiar third quarter setback.
After the loss, Westbrook left before the doors to the Thunder locker room were even opened to the media. He bolted as quickly as the Thunder’s
grasp on a game against its Northwest Division rival, with another division clash just hours away in Minnesota on Wednesday.
Following a clunky first half in which the Blazers and Thunder combined for 19 turnovers, OKC looked to have righted its offense with scores on five of its first nine shots.
It would have been good if the Thunder could stop the Blazers at all.
“We control the energy; we control the effort,” Carmelo Anthony said. “I think that’s what it’s all coming down to these last two games.”
The Blazers torched the Thunder’s defense in third quarter for 34 points on 15-of-24 shooting, 4-of-7 from 3-point range. With no Andre Roberson in the starting lineup for the fourth consecutive game, the Thunder’s defense has given up 114 or more points in three straight games.
But without Roberson in L.A., the Thunder still put together dominant performances against the Lakers and Clippers on consecutive nights last week.
“I wouldn’t say offensively because we’ve grown we’ve slacked,” Paul George said when asked about potentially slipping on defense because the Thunder’s offense has taken flight. “We’ve had the same approach on the defensive end.
“We just haven’t been getting it done, simple as that.”
It didn’t help the Thunder that its offense, which has been the league’s best since late December, was out of sync in the first half.
Tied 50-50 with under a minute left in the first half, Westbrook passed off to Carmelo Anthony and immediately cut to the basket. Nice move, smart play. Anthony passed right back … to the spot vacated by Westbrook. The ball trickled out of bounds for the Thunder’s 10th turnover.
George finished with 22 points despite missing his first five shots. In the first half, he curled off a screen and fired a 3-pointer … which hit the top of the backboard.
Credit to George, though. He knew the shot was wildly off, so he went aggressively for an offensive rebound … and crashed into a Portland player committing his third foul, sending the Blazers back to the line. Portland finished with as many free throw attempts as the Thunder’s 26.
Frustration was evident early. When George pushed the ball in transition, arms engulfed him on a shot attempt but no whistle was blown. George quickly stamped an “(expletive) terrible” verdict on the no-call. It was directed toward official Justin Van Duyne, who quickly handed George a technical foul.
From there, George channeled his frustrations into a game-high 16 points at the half, making six of his last eight shots before the break. The rhythm seemingly transferred to Anthony out of halftime, who finished with 19 points and finally hit a couple of 3-pointers in the Thunder’s opening salvo of the third quarter. Westbrook had 22 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Thunder hit 12 3-pointers.
The defense, however, never materialized, again spotty from the Thunder’s three-game road swing, again deficient in the third quarter.