Trail Blazers 115, Thunder 110
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Guard Damian Lillard knocked down five 3-point shots in the final 3:20 to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a come-from-behind 115-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night at the Moda Center.
Lillard scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Trail Blazers (17-24) snapped a three-game losing streak. CJ McCollum added 22 points for the Blazers.
Forward Kevin Durant scored 28 points and guard Russell Westbrook contributed 25 points, nine rebounds and 15 assists for Oklahoma City (26-12). Center Steven Adams had 17 and 10 boards for the Thunder (27-11), who lost for only the court time in the last 19 games.
Forward Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 points and forward Ed Davis came off the bench for 10 points and seven rebounds as Portland took a 52-46 lead at halftime. Durant scored 14 points while Westbrook had only two points on 1-for-9 shooting, to go with five rebounds and 10 assists at the break.
McCollum drained a 3 to stoke the margin to 55-46, and five straight points by Lillard pushed it to 65-55. Oklahoma City answered with a 27-9 run to go ahead 82-74. The Thunder lead was 85-80 heading into the final period.
Portland was within 100-95 after center Mason Plumlee's layup with 3:55 to play. OKC's Andre Roberson and Lillard exchanged 3-pointers, and Westbrook knocked down a short jumper to give the Thunder a 105-98 advantage with 2:48 remaining.
Lillard sank a long 3 to cut the difference to 105-101. Westbrook answered with a layup, but Lillard fired in another bomb from beyond the arc to cut OKC's lead to 107-104 with 2:08 to play.
Adams sank 1 of 2 at the line, and guard Allen Crabbe hit another 3-pointer to draw Portland within 108-107 with 2 minutes remaining. Westbrook made a pair of foul shots to hike the Thunder advantage to 110-107, but Lillard rained in another 3 and it was tied at 110-110 with 1:31 left. After a steal, Lillard hit another 3 to push Portland ahead 113-110 with 1:15 remaining.
Plumlee blocked Serge Ibaka's dunk attempt, and Portland rebounded. Lillard missed a jumper, but Iminu grabbed the offensive board. Lillard made a pair at the line with 1.2 seconds to seal the victory.
The teams battled back and forth through the first quarter with Oklahoma City -- taking advantage of 16 points in the paint -- carrying a 27-26 lead into the second period.
The Blazers moved in front 39-34, and a driving layup by forward Ed Davis improved the advantage to 50-41 with two minutes left in the quarter. Portland settled for a six-point edge at intermission.
NOTES -- The teams entered Sunday's game headed in different directions. Portland had lost four in a row and nine of 13. Oklahoma City had won six of seven and 15 of its last 18. ... After losing five of their first eight road games, the Thunder had won six of the last seven away from home prior to Sunday's loss. ... How to defend two of the NBA's top five scorers in OKC F Kevin Durant and G Russell Westbrook? "It's a challenge not a lot of teams have figured out," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "You have to be alert every possession. You have to crowd their space, contest every shot and not give them any easy ones. Even with that, there are no guarantee. Great players make great shots and great plays."