close
close

Thunder pulls away from Blazers to remain undefeated

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trail BlazersNovember 1, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket against Portland Trailblazers forward Toumani Camara (33) during the first quarter at Moda Center. Mandatory credits: Brian Murphy-Imagn Images

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists as undefeated Oklahoma City posted a 137-114 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Jalen Williams added 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals as Oklahoma City won its fifth straight game to open the season. Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace each scored 13 points off the bench, Isaiah Joe added 12 and Ousmane Dieng had 11 for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City has won thirteen straight games against the Trail Blazers. One of last season’s wins was by a score of 139-77, with the 62-point margin tied for the fifth largest in NBA history.

Jerami Grant had 17 points and Deandre Ayton and Rayan Rupert added 14 each for Portland. Toumani Camara had 13 points and Deni Avdija and Dalano Banton had 11 each for the Trail Blazers, who have started the season with four losses in six games.

Oklahoma City shot 53.7 percent from the field, including 19 of 49 (38.8 percent) from three-point range. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 18 shots and Williams hit 8 of 12, including 4 of 6 from three-point range.

Chet Holmgren blocked five shots for the Thunder.

The Trail Blazers shot 47 percent from the field and made 15 of 35 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc.

The Thunder dominated the third quarter, outscoring Portland 38–17, turning a halftime tie into a 21-point lead for the visitors.

Alex Caruso’s basket capped a 9-0 spurt as Oklahoma City led 89-78 with 3:56 left in the quarter.

Later, Wallace knocked down a 3-pointer and Gilgeous-Alexander followed with four straight points to end a 23-5 surge as the Thunder held a 103-83 lead with 24.1 seconds left .

A buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Dieng gave Oklahoma City a 106-85 lead entering the final stanza.

The Thunder scored nine of the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, with Ajay Mitchell’s trey making it 115-87 with 9:17 to go and driving Oklahoma City to the finish.

The Thunder led by as many as 17 in the first quarter before tying the score to 68 at halftime.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 in the half and Williams added 17 for the Thunder. Grant had 14 points in the first half for Portland.

The Thunder led 35-18 after a trey by Gilgeous-Alexander with 1:16 left in the first quarter. The score was 37-24 going into the second.

Oklahoma City led by 15 four minutes into the quarter before Portland began cutting the deficit.

Later, a 13-2 burst was capped by Ayton’s basket for a 66-65 Trail Blazers lead with 37.1 seconds left in the half. It ended in a tie when Williams drained a 32-foot 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left.

–Field-level media