Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Blazers

The Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers, 104-99, in Game 1 of their first round series in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Here are three takeaways from the contest.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not had a lot of recent playoff success. In fact, they have dropped eight of their previous 11 postseason games and have been eliminated in the first round in each of the last two postseasons.

However, the team probably approached this 2019 NBA Playoffs series with the Portland Trail Blazers with a bit of confidence. After all, they match up well again them, as evidenced by the fact that they beat them in each of the four regular season meetings.

Of course, what happens during the regular season doesn’t always carry over into the postseason and that was the case in Game 1 of this series. The Trail Blazers jumped out to an early 39-25 lead, before holding on for a 104-99 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the series, ending their 10-game postseason skid dating back to the 2016 NBA Playoffs.

Here’s a look a look at the major takeaways for the Thunder from Game 1.