Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

NBA: Thunder hold off Trail Blazers for bounce-back win

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>LOS ANGELES, United States - Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland on Sunday to push their NBA-best record to 37-8.</p><p>The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1883704889911697831&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-01-27T02%3A54%3A10.022587%3A99e2271d-e4d7-458a-ae12-0dc49c788255%26action%3Dedit%26popup&amp;sessionId=872ed8f0c6c53830a9c434d951f2c12f75683290&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:529px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1883704889911697831"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Jalen Williams added 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block.</p><p>But the Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading into the fourth quarter, sliced the deficit to six on Anfernee Simons&#x27; three-pointer with 2:37 left to play.</p><p>Oklahoma City&#x27;s lead was 112-106 with 1:49 remaining when Hartenstein, fed by Gilgeous-Alexander, threw down a dunk.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander followed with a driving layup to push the lead back to double digits.</p><p>&quot;Just executing,&quot; Hartenstein said of the key to turning back the Trail Blazers. &quot;Focusing on the details.&quot;</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander, who came into the contest averaging 32 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds, added five rebounds one assist and three of the Thunder&#x27;s seven steals.</p><p>Oklahoma City out-scored the Blazers 52-22 in the paint and had a 28-13 advantage in second-chance points.</p><p>Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.</p><p>Scoot Henderson scored 25 points off the bench and Toumani Camara added 24 points, but the Blazers have now lost their last 15 games against the Thunder.</p><p>The Blazers had jumped to a quick 10-point lead, but the Thunder closed the first quarter on a 17-7 run to tie it at 27-27.</p><p>They pushed the lead to as many as 19 on the way to a 66-53 halftime advantage.</p><p>bb/pst</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland on Sunday to push their NBA-best record to 37-8.</p>

Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland on Sunday to push their NBA-best record to 37-8.