Deni Avdija recorded 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Portland Trail Blazers recorded a 121-119 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night to hand the defending NBA champions their first setback of the season.
Jrue Holiday scored 22 points and Jerami Grant added 20 off the bench for Portland, which trailed by 22 points in the opening quarter and never led until five-plus minutes into the final stanza.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 18 points and Toumani Camara added 16 as the Trail Blazers halted a 16-game skid against Oklahoma City.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander registered 35 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its first eight games and was the NBA’s last remaining unbeaten team. Aaron Wiggins scored 27 points and Ajay Mitchell added 21.
The Thunder had a chance to force overtime when Isaiah Joe (14 points) was fouled with 0.6 seconds to play. Joe’s right foot was on the 3-point arc, so he was only awarded two free throws. He made the first and intentionally missed the second, but the tip-in attempt was unsuccessful.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 20 or more points in 81 consecutive games, extending the third-longest streak in NBA history.
Chet Holmgren (back), Luguentz Dort (trapezius) and Alex Caruso (rest) were held out in the second end of a back-to-back for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder trailed by five before Gilgeous-Alexander drove for a layup with 31.6 seconds left.
Avdija turned the ball over with 12.1 seconds remaining, and Camara fouled Gilgeous-Alexander with 7.1 seconds left to prevent a tying 3-point attempt. The reigning MVP made both free throws to bring the Thunder within one.
Holiday was fouled with 6.5 seconds left and made both free throws to make it 121-118. Joe missed a 3-point attempt with 4.8 seconds left prior to the late foul.
The Trail Blazers moved with one four times in the fourth quarter before Holiday knocked down a jumper for a 97-96 lead with 6:44 left to give Portland its first lead of the night. Holiday sank a 3-pointer 31 seconds later to give the Trail Blazers a four-point advantage.
Oklahoma City later led by one before Grant scored four straight points to start a 9-0 run. Avdija added a basket and Holiday drained a 3-pointer to give Portland a 112-104 lead with 2:48 remaining.
The Thunder shot 41.8% from the field, including 15 of 38 (39.5%) from 3-point range.
Portland made 40.9% of its attempts and was 19 of 43 (39.5%) from behind the arc. Duop Reath had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
The contest appeared headed to a blowout when Oklahoma City led 38-16 late in the first quarter.
However, the Trail Blazers scored 29 of 46 points during an extended second-quarter run to pull within 55-54.
Oklahoma City led 65-57 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
