Thunder vs. Trail Blazers takeaways: OKC finishes off road trip with win at Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. — Jalen Williams put it best.

“Ugly wins are wins.”

Wise words from the rookie after the Thunder’s 118-112 win against the depleted Trail Blazers on Sunday night in Portland. The standings don’t distinguish ugly from pretty — not in October, and certainly not in March, when every win in the West can rearrange the playoff picture.

The Thunder (37-38) finished its four-game road trip a respectable 2-2, which edged OKC back into 10th place, the last play-in spot, with seven games to play.

During the last two rebuilding seasons, the Thunder was the outmanned lottery-bound team making superior opponents sweat things out this time of year. The Thunder was in the reverse role Sunday.

The Damian Lillardless-Blazers blitzed the Thunder 37-25 in the first quarter, which was a wake-up call as to how the rest of the game would unfold.

“When guys get an opportunity, usually their energy level’s high,” Thunder guard Josh Giddey said. “It’s a bit more loose with the way they play. We knew they were a talented team regardless of who’s out there, and this is one we couldn’t take lightly.”

Giddey hit the biggest shot of the game with just over two minutes left. It was a 3-pointer that put the Thunder ahead by five points. Giddey shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range in his 17-point, 11-rebound and six-assist night.

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The Blazers were led by rookie Shaedon Sharpe, who scored a career-high 29 points. Nassir Little had a season-high 28 points off the bench. Kevin Knox drained 3-pointers and Keon Johnson attacked.

Not names you would expect to push Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the near full-strength Thunder.

But Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has seen it with the G League OKC Blue and he’s seen it with the Thunder. When players get opportunities, especially players who don’t normally get opportunities, they tend to play hard.

“That’s the circumstance that this (Blazers) team is in now,” Daigneault said. “Guys are gonna step up, and they’re gonna play really aggressively and they’re gonna let it all fly with nothing to lose.”

That’s what the Blazers did, and the Thunder did just enough to survive.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's injury scare

​​Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came up limping after rolling his left ankle on a drive at the end of the third quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander stayed in the game to shoot free throws after the foul, and he even made another basket before the quarter expired.

Then he spent the whole quarter break getting looked at by Thunder trainers. He took off his left sneaker while trainers taped his foot. Gilgeous-Alexander briefly headed down the tunnel toward the visitor’s locker room before returning to the bench.

Gilgeous-Alexander, hopping at the scorer’s table as if testing the strength of his left ankle, checked back into the game at the 8:46 mark in the fourth quarter.

Shortly after checking in, Gilgeous-Alexander took Nassir Little off the bounce and finished an and-one that tied the game 103-103. Gilgeous-Alexander continued to limp during every pause, but he gutted it out, finishing with 31 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

“It was on fire at first, but I just tried to shake it off and play through it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “My adrenaline carried me through the end of the third.”

Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t at his best, but he was cleared to return in the fourth quarter.

“(Thunder team doctor Donnie Strack) took a look at him and knew pretty quickly he could go back in,” Daigneault said. “The biggest thing was not letting him sit too long, getting back out there, keeping it moving.”

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Thunder starts slow, finishes strong

A weird 4 p.m. PT tip-off on the final stop of a four-game trip against Portland’s C Team might have factored into the Thunder’s slow start.

After one quarter, the Trail Blazers led 37-25.

Portland shot 70% from the field, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Kevin Knox shot 3-of-3 from deep in his five first-quarter minutes off Portland’s bench.

The Thunder’s offense was fine in the first quarter. The defense? Not so much.

“It wasn’t a pretty game by any stretch, it wasn’t our best game, but given the circumstances, it required a level of resilience and toughness out of our team,” Daigneault said, “and I thought we had that in order to win the game.”

The Thunder responded by pounding the Blazers 43-25 in the second quarter.

The Thunder also ramped up its defense and hustle, creating plenty of second-chance looks.

After Isaiah Joe made a 3-pointer to put the Thunder ahead 52-49, Joe then got a steal, and after a Thunder miss, the Thunder got an offensive rebound that led to another Joe deep ball.

Joe’s second 3-pointer in that short sequence capped a 30-12 Thunder run.

Joe wasn’t done. He nailed two more triples in the first half and was 5-of-7 from three heading into halftime.

It was the third time this season that Joe made five 3-pointers in a half.

Joe finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists. Joe’s seven rebounds tied a career high.

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Trail Blazers fire up the tank

The likelihood of Victor Wembenyama in Portland increases when the Trail Blazers’ injury report looks like this:

Out: Damian Lillard (right calf tightness)

Out: Jerami Grant (left quad contusion)

Out: Anfernee Simons (right foot soreness)

Out: Jusuf Nurkic (right knee soreness)

Out: Justise Winslow (left ankle sprain)

Lillard, Simons, Grant and Nurkic are Portland’s top-four scorers.

The Trail Blazers haven’t said that Lillard is being shut down, but it’s likely he’s played his last game. It’s a shame given that Lillard, at age 32, has had the best season of his career, but shelving him is the logical thing to do given the lottery standings.

Portland (32-42) is sixth in the reverse standings, with a 9% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 37.2% chance of landing inside the top-four. Portland could slide as low as fifth in the reverse standings, which would give the Blazers a 10.5% chance of getting the No. 1 pick.

We’re just two days removed from the one-year anniversary of Isaiah Roby making a 3-pointer to force overtime in Portland, ending in a 134-131 Thunder win that felt like a loss for OKC given the lottery implications.

It worked out just fine for the Thunder though, as it landed Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

And even without Holmgren’s help, the Thunder is fighting for postseason positioning while the Trail Blazers are back in the ping-pong ball derby.

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Where is Thunder in NBA playoff picture?

The only thing worse than losing to the Hornets is losing to the Hornets twice in three days.

The Mavericks managed to do it, though.

Dallas, already in the danger zone, is now staring in the face of disaster.

The Mavericks have lost four straight games and the vibes in Dallas are, to put it kindly, off.

Anyway, the Hornets did the Thunder a huge favor as OKC is now a full game ahead of Dallas in the West standings.

The Hornets, by the way, will be in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Billy Donovan and the Bulls also helped the Thunder by beating the Lakers in LeBron James’ return.

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Thunder tip-ins

● Thunder guard Lindy Waters III was a late scratch with plantar fasciitis. Olivier Sarr and Jared Butler were inactive.

● Chet Holmgren wrapped up his on-court workout about 30 minutes before tip-off. He went through a series of shooting simulations like pick-and-pops, transition threes and dribble handoffs.

● Blazers forward Trendon Watford exited the game in the second quarter with right ankle discomfort. Watford did not return.

● The Thunder improved to 8-2 on Sundays.

● The Thunder swept the Trail Blazers 4-0 in the season series. Oklahoma City has won seven straight against Portland.

● Jaylin Williams took two charges in the first six minutes, but fell short of the 16 charges he was on pace for.

Thunder vs. Hornets

TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Paycom Center (BSOK)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder finishes off road trip with win at Portland Trail Blazers