The Thunder suffered their first loss of the year Sunday night, at home versus the Portland Trailblazers, 74-83. It was a combination of sloppy play, lack of defensive effort for extended stretches and foul trouble (especially for Russell Westbrook) that did in the Thunder against a talented, if sporadic, Portland team.
The Blazers jumped out early with Steve Blake looking for his shot, and at the same time frustrating Russell Westbrook, who committed two offensive fouls and 3 turnovers in the FIRST quarter. Not helping matters was Velvet Hoop (Kevin Durant) looked about as smooth as gravel with cold shooting from the field, 3 for 20, and also lackadaisical effort on the boards with 5 rebounds. The only thing that kept OKC in the game was the fact that Portland wasn't exactly lighting it up either, especially their All-Star guard and main weapon, Brandon Roy. Roy shot just 5 for 17, including 1 for 5 from deep. On the flip side, their Big Man and former number one draft pick in 2007 (one spot ahead of Kevin Durant), Greg Oden, looked good on the defensive AND offensive side of the ball. Oden finished the game shooting 4-5 from the field and 100% (4-4) from the charity stripe for 12 points, and also added 10 boards.
The game was nip and tuck throughout the second half with the teams trading buckets, however few and far between, and the lead. Westbrook seemed to settle into the game (although he ended with 9 turnovers), and tried to pick up Velvet with some scoring of his own with 23 points on 67% from the field and 70% from the free throw line. The big three was rounded out by Jeff Green who didn't shoot well, but scored 19 and chipped in energy with 11 boards.
Even with the effort of Westbrook and Green, plus a spark of the bench in terms of hustle from the knotty dread Etan Thomas, who had 9 rebounds and a block, the Thunder could not overcome Durant's worst game of the young season. The home fans had to go home disappointed, but with hopes that the game was merely a bump in the road, and with their thoughts toward the reigning NBA champion Lakers visit in the following game.
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