Trail Blazers 120, Thunder 115
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Al-Farouq Aminu scored 27 points as the Portland Trail Blazers rolled to a big lead, then held on for a 120-115 victory over the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at the Moda Center.
CJ McCollum added 26 points and Allen Crabbe came off the bench for 16 points for the Trail Blazers, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory. Portland (43-37) is in a virtual tie with the Memphis Grizzlies (42-36) for fifth place in the West.
Enes Kanter scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for the Thunder (54-25), who previously were locked into the No. 3 playoff position in the Western Conference.
Four Oklahoma City starters, including stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, sat out to get a rest.
Dion Waiters scored 25 points and Anthony Morrow contributed 19 for Oklahoma City, which trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Aminu scored 17 points and McCollum had 15 to stake Portland to a 72-59 halftime lead. Kanter had 17 points and 10 rebounds by intermission.
Portland hiked the lead to 84-61 midway through the third quarter and carried a 99-83 advantage into the final period.
Kanter led a surge that drew the Thunder to within 105-95 with 9:15 remaining. Portland used an 8-1 spurt to increase it to 113-96, but Oklahoma City wouldn't die, drawing within 118-110 with 2:01 left. The Thunder couldn't generate enough offense down the stretch to turn the tide.
Portland jumped on Oklahoma City early, sinking four of eight 3-point shots in the first 4 1/2 minutes to take a 17-6 lead. Aminu had three of the treys and 11 quick points. The Thunder responded with a 12-4 run to close to within 21-18. The Blazers increased the margin to 33-26 heading into the second quarter, Aminu leading the way with 13 points.
Oklahoma City cut the difference to 36-32, but Portland used a 7-0 run to make it 43-32, then pushed the lead to 62-44 midway through the second quarter. The Blazers settled for a 13-point advantage at the break.
NOTES: Four Oklahoma City starters, F Kevin Durant, F Serge Ibaka, G Russell Westbrook and G Andre Roberson, did not play Wednesday. The Thunder clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a win at Denver on Tuesday night. "After every game, we evaluate where guys are at physically, the time of year, minutes logged, those kind of things," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "We're in a back-to-back situation. We all thought this was a good opportunity for those guys to get some rest." ... Before Wednesday's game, F Mo Harkless averaged 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting .513 from the field since moving into the Blazers' starting lineup eight games ago. "Mo is playing with good energy and, more than anything, a lot of confidence," Portland coach Terry Stotts said.