Trail Blazers at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn't panic after dropping the first two games on the road and got back into the series with a win at home in Game 3. The Thunder will try to protect homecourt once again and even the Western Conference playoff series at two wins apiece when they host the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 on Sunday.
Oklahoma City failed to reach 100 points and went 10-of-61 from 3-point range in a pair of losses at Portland but breezed to 120 and went 15-of-29 from beyond the arc in the Game 3 triumph. "I thought our ball movement was much better consistently tonight," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters after the win. "I thought to start the game, we got a little stagnant, and then the guys were emphasizing it, we were emphasizing it as coaches, just to keep moving the ball, and I thought we generated better shots for a full 48 minutes." The Trail Blazers were outscored 31-18 at the free-throw line in Game 3 and pointed to that as a difference in the game. "We knew that it was going to be a physical game because so far this entire series has been really physical," Portland point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "But you don't give the benefit of the doubt on the road. I think on both sides, both teams played really physical and they lived at the free-throw line and we didn't."
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, NBCS Northwest (Portland), FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS: Lillard scored 25 of his 32 points in the third quarter to get Portland back in the game but could not keep it going down the stretch as Oklahoma City pulled away. "Fourth quarter is the fourth quarter, but we did a good job in the third quarter to get back in the game," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "I can't say that it was much different as the game went along. They changed some match-ups. They took (Russell) Westbrook off of (Lillard) and put him in the corner and had other guys guarding him, so we'll look at the film and see what we can do." Lillard is averaging 30.3 points in the series.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Russell Westbrook struggled to 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting in Game 2 but turned things around at home, pouring in 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while adding 11 assists in the win. "We are going to continue to trust, make the right play," Westbrook told reporters of the team's offense. "If guys are open, you have to make the right play and trust your teammates." Westbrook's performance helped make up for an off-night from fellow All-Star Paul George, who struggled to 3-of-16 from the floor in Game 3.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder SF Jerami Grant went 6-of-7 from the floor in Game 3 after going 3-of-15 in the first two games.
2. Portland SG CJ McCollum is averaging 26 points and is 11-of-22 from 3-point range in the series.
3. Oklahoma City C Steven Adams is 20-of-28 from the floor in the series.