Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Blazers
1. What time is it? It’s Lillard Time
One of the pivotal matchups coming into this series is at the point guard position. For the Thunder, you have Russell Westbrook, who can put up a triple-double seemingly at will, given that he’s averaged one for three consecutive seasons now.
In the four regular season meetings between these two teams, Westbrook averaged 29.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.8 assists per outing. Additionally, he posted two of his 34 triple-doubles against the Blazers.
On the other side of this matchup, you have Damian Lillard, who torched Oklahoma City’s defense during the regular season to the tune of 34.8 points, 7.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per outing, including a 51-point masterpiece the last time the two teams squared off.
As expected, the triple-double machine held up his end of the bargain, finishing with 24 points (8-for-17 from the field), 10 rebounds and 10 dimes to pace the Thunder. Meanwhile, Lillard had a pretty good outing in his own right.
No, he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, converting just nine of his 21 attempts overall, but he did finish with 30 points and hit a couple of timely baskets in the final frame as well. With the lead cut to five points (86-81), Lillard connected on a 30-footer to extend the lead back to eight.
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When the Thunder trimmed the deficit to just one point (93-92), Lillard hit yet another 3-pointer to keep the home team out in front. Clutch free throw shooting allowed the Trail Blazers to hold on for the victory, but if not for Lillard scoring 14 of the team’s 28 points in the period, Portland would have dropped its 11th straight playoff game.