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

3. The 3-point chasm still runs deep

The 3-point discrepancy played a sizable role in Portland’s Game 1 victory, as the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t find the bottom of the net. The woes continued in Game 2, as they went 5-of-28 (17.9 percent) from distance.

Their cumulative 10-of-61 (16.4 percent) performance puts them on track to have the worst 3-point shooting round in playoff history (minimum of 10 made 3s). They’re currently beating out the 1989 Golden State Warriors‘ 11-of-67 conference semifinals by thousandths of a percentage point.

Meanwhile, the Blazers can’t seem to miss. Portland shot 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) from long range Tuesday, bringing their total to 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) for the series. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the numbers even out a bit on both sides.

For now, however, the Blazers have done a great job of shooting confidently while forcing OKC’s non-shooters to put up shots they aren’t comfortable with. This plan may not be foolproof in every game of this series, but it should keep the Blazers in control.