Thunder Dropped in Playoff Opener by Portland

OKC entered the NBA playoffs hot. The Thunder had won five straight games and swept Portland in the regular season.

Game one was not even close to how you think it would turn out based off of that.

Portland, who was on a 10 game playoff losing streak, started things with Damian Lillard draining a long three. OKC couldn’t match Portland’s shooting. The Blazers hit their first five three pointers while OKC went 2-20 from three to start.

The Blazers used a 13-2 run in the first quarter and eventually built their lead to 17.

Paul George struggled mightily. PG went 2-10 to start but eventually poured in 26 points on 24 shots. George admitted after the game he hadn’t shot a basketball since the game winning shot against Houston last week with shoulder issues.

The Thunder would step it up defensively in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Off a steal, Russell Westbrook hit a winding layup to pull OKC to within four. Russell finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

In the 4th, the Thunder pulled it to one on a Paul George three. However, Damian Lillard came down and answered right back with a three of his own. Lillard had a game high 30.

He wasn’t the only menace in OKC’s side. Former Thunder star Enes Kanter put up 20 and 18. Kanter had the game clinching layup late in the fourth as the Blazers took care of the Thunder 104-99.

The Thunder shot 40 percent from the field but just 15 percent from three. The Thunder and Blazers are off Monday before hitting the Moda Center for game two Tuesday.