Steve Blake had 18 points and Brandon Roy
scored 16 in Portland's 83-74 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Greg Oden put together a 12-point, 10-rebound effort for the Trail Blazers,
who were coming off consecutive losses to Denver and Houston. Travis Outlaw
also had 12 points and Martell Webster netted 10 in the win.
"We're still trying to find ourselves," said Portland coach Nate McMillan. "As
I told the team, we're not last year's team. The guys are talking about a
rhythm. We're playing with a different group. Tonight they bounced back."
Russell Westbrook scored 23 for the Thunder, who were hurt by an awful
shooting night by Kevin Durant. Jeff Green totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds
and Durant scored 16, but ended 3-of-21 from the field. Westbrook had nine of
Oklahoma City's 19 turnovers as the Thunder lost for the first time in three
games this season.
"We definitely have to move the ball and you have to make shots to make
assists," said Thunder guard Kevin Ollie. "The ball movement was a little
stagnant. It's something we've been working on and we'll get better."
The Blazers raced to a 25-15 lead after one quarter, helped by a 15-6 push to
begin the game. Roy's layup capped the spurt.
Seven straight points from the Thunder gave them a 30-29 edge midway through
the second. James Harden hit consecutive three-pointers to culminate the
rally, but the hosts trailed, 39-37 at the half.
Oklahoma City turned a four-point deficit early in the third into a 45-41
lead, but the back-and-forth battle continued later in the period. Portland
scored seven in a row with Webster accounting for all the points for the 54-47
edge.
The visitors claimed a 60-56 lead moving to the fourth. The closest the
Thunder got in the last period was three points, at 65-62, with 5:28 left on a
pair of Westbrook free throws. Blake's three-ball widened the margin to 77-68
with 1 1/2 minutes remaining.
Game Notes
The Thunder shot 34.3 percent from the field, including 3-of-14 from three-
point range...Portland went 8-of-21 from beyond the arc...The Blazers have won
seven of the last 10 meetings.
©2009 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
