On April 15, the series between the sixth-ranked Thunder and the third-ranked Trail Blazers began.
This is the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs since 1991. The rankings were determined in the last game of the regular season. The Trail Blazers grabbed third place in the Western Conference and the Thunder ranked sixth.
In the four regular season games, the Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers and averaged 120.8 points per game.
Lillard and Westbrook, the generals of both sides, have had conflicts on the court, and Kanter is a former Thunder player, so their encounter is not lacking in highlights.
The two teams are very similar. The Trail Blazers have a double backcourt, and the Thunder are the same. Westbrook and Pickle George are the first and second players.
The only difference between the two teams is that the Trail Blazers have strong shooting abilities with both guns in the backcourt, while Westbrook on the Thunder side is a blacksmith!
In the end, the Trail Blazers defeated the Thunder 104-99 at home. The series score became 1:0.
In this game, the Trail Blazers scored 20 points, Damian Lillard scored 30 points, CJ McCollum scored 24 points and 6 rebounds, and Yoinnis Kanter scored 20 points and 18 rebounds against his old team.
The Thunder were sluggish from the outside, making only 5 of 33 three-pointers. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double, scoring 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Paul George had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Stephen Adams had 17 points.
9 rebounds. Dennis Schroeder came off the bench to score 11 points.
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On April 17, the Trail Blazers defeated the Thunder 114-94 at home, taking a 2-0 lead with a total score.
The "double guns" performed well, CJ McCollum scored 33 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Damian Lillard 29 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, Maurice Huck
Laise had 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook almost had a triple-double, but he made only 5 of 20 shots and scored 14 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. Paul George had 27 points and 8 rebounds, and Stephen Adams had 16 points and 9 rebounds.
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On April 20, the Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers 118-108 at home, bringing the total score to 1-2.
Russell Westbrook's condition improved. He made 4 of 6 three-pointers and scored 33 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds. Paul George had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Jerami-
Grant had 18 points. Dennis Schroeder, who came off the bench, had 17 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers failed to make a comeback. Damian Lillard scored 25 points in the third quarter and contributed 32 points and 6 assists. CJ McCollum had 21 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Yonis Kanter
19 points.
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On April 22, the Trail Blazers defeated the Thunder 111-98 in an away game, taking a 3-1 lead with a total score.
In this game, the "double gun" performed normally. CJ McCollum scored 27 points. Damian Lillard worked hard in the third quarter and contributed 24 points and 8 assists. Al Aminu scored 19 points.
9 rebounds, Maurice Harkless had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Thunder fell short. Paul George scored 32 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Russell Westbrook made only 5 of 21 shots and scored 14 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Jerami
-Grant had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Dennis Schroeder came off the bench to score 17 points.
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On April 24, the fifth game between the Trail Blazers and Thunder began.
After the opening, the Thunder scored 5 points in a row and started 12-4. Mike Colomb, one of the Trail Blazers' "double guns", fell into foul trouble early, and Lillard single-handedly began to carry the team. The Thunder once scored two goals in the first quarter.
There was a digital advantage, but with Lillard's counterattack, the Trail Blazers chased the score to 29-37.
Lillard made sudden inside and outside shots, and the Trail Blazers counterattacked in the second quarter. With 3 minutes and 49 seconds left in this quarter, Lillard hit a three-pointer, and the Trail Blazers only trailed 50-52.
After the Thunder expanded their advantage to 5 points, Lillard hit a shot and Seth Curry also hit a three-pointer, and the Trail Blazers overtook the score.
Kanter was injured and left the game early with 6.9 seconds left in the quarter. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured and was still able to play in the second half. George hit a three-pointer at the buzzer and the Thunder trailed 60-61 in the first half.
This was already the Thunder's best first half in the series, but because of Lillard, they still failed to gain an advantage.
In the first half, the Trail Blazers shot 51.1% and made 7 of 17 three-pointers. Lillard made 6 of 9 three-pointers and scored 34 points, but without a single assist. He alone supported the team.
McCollum only played 9 minutes and scored 2 points because of 3 fouls.
The Thunder shot 55.3% from the field and made 4 of 12 three-pointers. George scored 20 points and Westbrook had 12 points and 6 assists.
The two sides engaged in a tug-of-war, and in the second half of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers once widened the gap. With 3 minutes and 29 seconds left in this quarter, Lillard hit a three-pointer, and the Trail Blazers led 84-75.
The Thunder called a timeout and had an immediate effect. They hit three-pointers one after another and went on a 15-2 run, leading 90-86 in one fell swoop. Kanter made up a goal before the end of this quarter, and the Trail Blazers still trailed 88-90.
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In the fourth quarter, while Lillard was resting on the sidelines, the Thunder launched a 15-2 wave, gaining a double-digit advantage 105-90 in one fell swoop. Counting the end of the third quarter, the Thunder launched a crazy 30-6 attack wave.
, from a 9-point lead to a 15-point deficit.
After Lillard came on the court, he failed to stop his decline. He missed consecutive shots and was called for an offensive foul. It was not until 7 minutes and 30 seconds left in this quarter that the Trail Blazers succeeded in a dunk by Harkless. This was their first success in this quarter.
Second score.
Lillard led the team to fight back tenaciously. After he hit a three-pointer, the Trail Blazers chased the score to 103-108, but Westbrook immediately responded with a three-pointer.
The two sides began to fight for their lives. The Trail Blazers wanted to end the series early, while the Thunder wanted to fight against the odds.
George missed two free throws at the critical moment, and Westbrook was called for an offensive foul, giving the Trail Blazers a chance.
With 57 seconds left in the game, McCollum hit a mid-range shot, and the battle was tied at 113-113.
Both Westbrook and George had committed five fouls, and the Thunder did not score a point in 3 minutes. It was not until 39.4 seconds left in the game that George succeeded in a mid-range shot, and the Thunder took the lead again.
Lillard's moment arrived, and he calmly broke through for a layup to tie the score. After Westbrook missed the shot, the Trail Blazers controlled the last attack. They did not call a timeout and handed the ball to Lillard.
0.4 seconds before the end, Lillard took a decisive shot and hit a three-pointer against George.
The ball went in and the light came on, and Lillard didn't leave any time for the Thunder.
With this goal, the Trail Blazers narrowly defeated the Thunder 118-115 at home, and they advanced to the Western Conference semifinals 4-1.
After making the shot, Lillard turned around and made a goodbye gesture toward the Thunder bench. Then, he was surrounded by excited teammates.
Damian Lillard contributed a career-high 50 points in the playoffs. He also grabbed 7 rebounds and had 6 assists. CJ McCollum and Maurice Harkless each scored 17 points.
, Yiannis Kanter had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Thunder fell short and were overturned after leading by 15 points in the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook scored a triple-double, scoring 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Paul George scored 36 points and 9 rebounds.
Jerami Grant had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Dennis Schroeder came off the bench with 17 points.
The Trail Blazers have a good offense, but they rely on defense in this series. In the three wins, they suppressed the Thunder to less than 100 points. In the last game, they suppressed the Thunder's shooting percentage to only 37.5%.
This series exceeded most people's expectations. Before the game, many people thought that the Thunder was powerful and that the game would at least go to the sixth game. They did not expect that the Thunder would be eliminated in this way.
The Thunder's loss was mainly due to Westbrook, because he did not have a basket and the Blazers dared to shrink their defense, which made it very difficult for the Thunder to attack.
Again, in today's NBA, as a defender, if you don't have shooting ability, you are garbage!
