The Oklahoma City Thunder came back from a double-digit deficit in Portland, yet the Blazers stepped up and earned the victory in Game 1 on Sunday night (104-99).
The hosts led from start to finish and were in front by as many as 19 points. But, the visitors turned things around in the second half and attempted to “steal” the win and the home-court advantage.
However, Portland stood tall and made it 1-0 in the Western Conference quarter-finals.
Damian Lillard (30 points), C.J McCollum (24 points) and Enes Kanter (20 points, 18 rebounds) combined for 74 of the winners’ 104 points.
Paul George led the losing squad with a team-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double (24 points, 10 boards, 10 assists).
Game 2 will be played in Portland on Tuesday (16/04).
All major sporting events are on ESPN+. Sign up here for a free one-week trial and enjoy the top teams and athletes in action only on ESPN+
*Yiannis Bouranis is an affiliate partner of ESPN and is being compensated for the use of ESPN+ affiliate links. The opinions expressed in his posts are his own.
