38 Threes in Two Nights Push Portland Past the Thunder 123-103 and 118-108
The Blazers made 38 threes to Oklahoma City's 19 in back-to-back home wins, a 57-point edge from deep in a two-game series they won by 30.
Photo: NBA.com. Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard's 29-foot three with 6:17 left on Wednesday cut Oklahoma City's lead to 96-95, and Portland closed on a 19-9 run from a 99-99 tie to win 118-108 and sweep the Thunder at Moda Center. Across Wednesday's game and Tuesday's 123-103 win, the Blazers made 38 of 99 threes to the Thunder's 19 of 58, a 57-point edge from deep in two games Portland won by a combined 30.
Portland is 8-3. Oklahoma City came to Portland on a four-game winning streak, per the Associated Press, and leaves 8-4.
The math OKC lost
Strip out the threes and the Thunder won both nights. Oklahoma City scored 154 points on twos and free throws across the two games to Portland's 127, by our arithmetic from the NBA's official box scores. The Thunder won the paint both times, 38-34 on Tuesday and 42-36 on Wednesday, and grabbed 25 offensive rebounds to Portland's 21.
None of that covered a 57-point hole. Portland hit 19 threes each night, on 50 attempts and then on 49. Eight different Blazers made one on Tuesday. Jrue Holiday went 7 of 14 from deep off the bench across the two games. Sidy Cissoko, starting in place of Scoot Henderson, made 7 of 17 and scored 36 combined. Deni Avdija and Lillard added six threes apiece.
Oklahoma City's high-volume shooters went the other way. Jared McCain made 6 of 17. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went 0 for 11.
Gilgeous-Alexander's two-night line
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 57 points in Portland, and they came the hard way. He shot 17 of 42 from the field, missed all 11 threes and made 23 of 25 free throws. On Tuesday he took 22 shots for 26 points and sat the entire fourth quarter of a 20-point loss. On Wednesday he scored 23 of his 31 after halftime, per the AP, and finished minus-7.
He also played both games without most of the roster built around him. Chet Holmgren (knee), Jalen Williams (ankle) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) were out, and Jaylin Williams missed his fourth game with back spasms, per the AP. Ajay Mitchell scored 14 on Tuesday and did not play Wednesday. That left Isaiah Hartenstein, Aday Mara, Alex Caruso and McCain as the starters next to Gilgeous-Alexander in the second game, with Kenrich Williams, Nique Clifford, Micah Peavy and Bennett Stirtz off the bench.
Clifford, acquired from Sacramento on Sunday, made his Thunder debut Tuesday. His step-back three tied Wednesday's game at 88 with 11:11 left, and Kenrich Williams followed with a layup and two free throws for a 92-88 lead. Oklahoma City led 94-90 after a Hartenstein bucket at 9:18.
How Portland closed it
Avdija and Lillard took over the finish. Lillard's 29-footer made it 96-95. Robert Williams III tipped one in, Avdija hit two free throws for a 99-98 lead at 5:24, and the Blazers never trailed again. Avdija's 24-foot step-back three made it 106-100 with 2:53 left. Lillard then scored Portland's next six points, on a floater, a two and a pair of free throws, for a 112-105 lead with a minute left. Avdija and Lillard scored 20 of Portland's 30 fourth-quarter points, per the AP.
The Blazers went 25 of 26 at the line on Wednesday and 49 of 52 across the two games.
Avdija ran the offense in both wins. He scored 52 points on 17-of-35 shooting with 14 assists, went 12 of 14 at the line and was a combined plus-31. Lillard scored 43 on 29 shots, made all 11 of his free throws and was plus-36, the best two-game mark on either side. Holiday was plus-30 in 55 minutes off the bench.
What it says about both teams
Portland played both games without Shaedon Sharpe and Ja Morant, per ESPN's injury report, and still beat Oklahoma City twice by a combined 30. The Tuesday win came off a 38-21 third quarter, capped by Lillard's three from the logo for a 97-80 lead, per the AP. Wednesday's came after trailing by nine in the first half and losing a fourth-quarter lead. Portland won one game going away and the other in the last five minutes.
For Oklahoma City, the problem is narrower than the record. Missing at least four regulars in each game, the Thunder won the paint both nights and the offensive glass by four, and still could not keep up with a team that shot 38 percent from three on nearly 50 attempts a night. Until Holmgren and Jalen Williams return, the Thunder need someone other than Caruso to make threes at volume. Caruso went 5 of 8 in Portland. The rest of the roster went 14 of 50.
The Thunder visit the Clippers on Friday. Portland plays at Sacramento the same night.
Sources
- NBA official scorer's report, Thunder at Trail Blazers, Nov. 11, 2026
- NBA official scorer's report, Thunder at Trail Blazers, Nov. 10, 2026
- ESPN box score, Thunder at Trail Blazers, Nov. 11
- ESPN play-by-play, Thunder at Trail Blazers, Nov. 11
- ESPN box score, Thunder at Trail Blazers, Nov. 10
- AP recap via ESPN: Trail Blazers sweep the Thunder with a 118-108 win
- AP recap via ESPN: Damian Lillard scores 25 points as the Trail Blazers beat the Thunder 123-103
- Basketball-Reference box score, Thunder at Trail Blazers, Nov. 11, 2026
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