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The Thunder came back from an 18-point, second-quarter deficit
to win at home for the first time since Dec. 31. It was the
seventh time this season Oklahoma City won after trailing by 15
of more points, the most in the NBA.
The Thunder won in their first game since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
sustained a right ankle sprain that will keep him out until at
least the All-Star break.
Without Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City used a balanced
offense to pull out the victory, the team's first in six games
this season without its leading scorer.
Josh Giddey, who moved over to point guard in Gilgeous-Alexander's
absence, had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Darius Bazley scored 15 off the bench for the Thunder, whose
reserves outscored Portland's 40-19.
CJ McCollum scored a game-high 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting to
lead the Trail Blazers, who have dropped two consecutive games
and four of their past five. Norman Powell added 17 points, and
Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and nine rebounds.
The game was tied early in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma
City reeled off a 15-0 run to take control. The Thunder hit
their first six shots of the period, including a pair of
3-pointers from Ty Jerome and a trey by Mike Muscala, to build
the big lead.
After the game was tied early, Portland went on a 21-7 run to
lead 29-15 late in the first quarter.
The Blazers scored 31 in the first, and they extended their lead
to 40-22 with a 9-0 run early in the second quarter.
But then Portland's offense went cold, shooting just 3 of 14
over the last seven minutes of the second quarter as the Thunder
cut the deficit to 47-39 at halftime.
The Blazers were just 1 of 11 from behind the 3-point arc in the
second quarter. After hitting four 3-pointers in the first
quarter, Portland was just 3 of 28 from beyond the arc the rest
of the way.
Oklahoma City's comeback continued early in the second half, as
a 14-4 run tied the game for the first time since the opening
minutes, with five points coming from Dort.
The Thunder took the lead for the first time with less than
three minutes remaining in the third quarter on a Jerome
3-pointer.
--Field Level Media
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