Player grades: Thunder avoid trap game with 134-91 blowout win over Trail Blazers

Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Oklahoma City Thunder avoided falling for a textbook trap game in their 134-91 blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

After picking up a season-defining win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the Thunder avoided any potential hangover by taking care of business against a shorthanded Trail Blazers.

The Thunder got off to a hot start as they led 33-21 following the first quarter. That lead ballooned to 76-43 thanks to a 43-point second quarter. OKC’s scoring efficiency in the first half reached historic levels as its 88.5 true-shooting percentage marked the best shooting first half since 2020.

Any faint hopes of a miraculous comeback by Portland were quickly squashed by OKC with a 25-point third quarter that actually extended its lead by 35 points entering the final frame.

Overall, the Thunder shot 61% from the field. OKC also had a season-high 22-of-36 (61.1%) night from 3.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an easy 28 points on 13 shots. Chet Holmgren continues to build on his best game yet with 16 points and six rebounds.

Considering this was the third road game in four nights, OKC elected to lengthen its usual rotation by playing all 15 available players. This included 11 players in just the first quarter.

The Trail Blazers being one of the worst teams in the league increased OKC’s margin of error and allowed Daigneault to experiment a bit and play the end-of-bench guys early minutes.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are playing for lottery balls. Portland’s lengthy injury report confirmed that as No. 3 picked rookie Scoot Henderson headlined the abnormal amount of absences.

Portland shot 40% from the field and went 9-of-34 (26.5%) from 3. It also committed 17 turnovers in its deflating loss which resulted in 29 points for the Thunder.

The Trail Blazers were led by Jerami Grant, who finished with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Deandre Ayton had 11 points and five rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting

Outside of enjoying the obvious blowout win, OKC not sleeping on the Trail Blazers afforded it the luxury to rest their starters for 1.5 quarters in the second half. A huge gift considering this was the third road game in four nights.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A

This was light work for the All-NBA guard against one of the worst teams in the league.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. He shot 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Due to the lopsided score, he was limited to a season-low 23 minutes. An incredible gift for someone averaging 35 minutes a game.

The 25-year-old expectedly toyed with a Portland roster filled with young prospects and borderline NBA players. Gilgeous-Alexander danced with the basketball each time he had the chance to go to the bucket and went 8-of-11 inside of the paint.

Chet Holmgren: B

Following a career-high 36 points a day prior, Holmgren turned in another solid performance against the lowly Trail Blazers.

In 20 minutes, Holmgren finished with 16 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and two blocks. He went 2-of-2 from 3. This included a dominating second quarter where he scored 13 points to help OKC put this game to bed.

Facing Ayton, Holmgren did a great job at limiting the former first-overall pick to 11 points and five rebounds.

Isaiah Joe: A-minus

It’s been a successful road trip for Joe, who’s established himself as one of the Thunder’s top bench-scoring options.

Against the Trail Blazers, Joe scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3 in 14 minutes. He was a plus-20 in his limited time on the court. The sharpshooter scored nine points on all 3-pointers in the second quarter to aid in OKC’s 43-point period.

Joe continues to provide OKC with microwave scoring and spacing off the bench as one of their best 3-point shooters on the roster.

Aaron Wiggins: B

Playing a career-low in minutes, Aaron Wiggins was a benefactor of Jalen Williams’ absence — who missed the game with a hip strain — and the second half.

In 16 minutes, Wiggins finished with a season-high 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and three steals. He went 2-of-3 from 3.

OKC’s tremendous depth has caused the third-year forward to be on the outside of the rotation thus far, but that speaks more about the team’s talent than it does about Wiggins.

In an 82-game season, I’m sure Wiggins’ name will be called in a more consequential manner, but this blowout win helped provide him with some valuable minutes to knock off any rust.

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Story originally appeared on Thunder Wire