OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Josh Giddey had a triple-double and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Portland Trail Blazers 139-77 on Thursday night, a 62-point victory that matched the fifth-largest rout in NBA history.
Oklahoma City shattered its previous record for victory margin of 45 points, set twice during the 2012-13 season. The Thunder moved into a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference at 26-11.
The Thunder were on the wrong end of the NBA’s biggest blowout, losing by 73 to Memphis on Dec. 2, 2021. Current Oklahoma City players Luguentz Dort and Tre Mann played for the Thunder that night, while Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey sat.
Thursday was the Trail Blazers’ second-worst loss, having fallen by 65 to Indiana on Feb. 27, 1998. They are the first franchise in NBA history to lose by 60 or more points in multiple games. Their 77 points were the fewest by any team in a game in the past two seasons.
Jalen Williams scored 21 points, Chet Holmgren added 19, and Giddey had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his ninth career triple-double. He went 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line, becoming, at age 21, the youngest player with a triple-double and 100% shooting in a game in NBA history.
The Thunder shot 57% from the field. It was a complete victory for an Oklahoma City team that returned from Wednesday night’s win at Miami at 3 a.m. Thursday.
Portland’s Anfernee Simons scored 14 points and Scoot Henderson had 13 on 4-for-21 shooting. The Trail Blazers shot just 27.7% from the field.
Henderson scored the first five points of the game before the Thunder responded with a 22-2 run to take control. The highlight of the run was an odd basket by Holmgren. He drove to the rim on a fast break and was basically tackled from behind by Portland’s Jerami Grant. Somehow, Holmgren threw the ball up over his shoulder and into the hoop to give Oklahoma City an 18-7 lead.
Oklahoma City dominated from there, stretching the lead to 75-39 at halftime. Portland’s frustration boiled over when Shaedon Sharpe and coach Chauncey Billups both were called for technical fouls with 1:45 left in the second quarter.
The Thunder kept it going in the second half. Giddey threw a pass like a quarterback nearly the length of the court and found Williams for a layup to put the Thunder up 86-46. Oklahoma City outscored the Trail Blazers 43-17 in the third quarter to take a 118-56 edge into the fourth, the largest lead entering a fourth quarter in NBA history.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
