Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from Game 2 beatdown vs. Thunder

The Portland Trail Blazers won big over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of their first round. What are some things we can take away from this rout?

Entering this series, the Portland Trail Blazers had not defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder since March 2018, and had not won a playoff game since May 2016. Now, they have accomplished both in two consecutive opportunities. The Blazers routed OKC 114-94 in Game 2 of their first round series Tuesday night and now lead the series 2-0.

The game started off as a physical affair, which worked in the Thunder’s favor. OKC led Portland 31-26 after the first quarter and was up 46-36 with 5:00 left in the second quarter. Then the Blazers pushed back. They finally found their rhythm from beyond the arc while maintaining their defensive intensity. Portland outscored the Thunder 78-48 over the remaining 29 minutes of the game.

CJ McCollum led the way for Portland, dropping 33 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Damian Lillard came up big as well, scoring 29 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Maurice Harkless added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting plus nine boards.

Paul George paced Oklahoma City with 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists. Steven Adams chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds, and Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting, 11 assists, nine rebounds and six turnovers.

Portland is now in control of the series as it shifts to the Sooner State for Game 3 on Friday. Here are a few things we can take away from the Trail Blazers’ massive Game 2 win.