Portland Trail Blazers quiet Thunder
Blazers 83, Thunder 74: On bright side, OKC keeps it close with solid defense

BY MIKE BALDWIN, Staff Writer, mbaldwin@opubco.com Comments 1
Published: November 2, 2009

Things got so out of whack for Kevin Durant that the future All-Star even missed a dunk in the waning seconds.

Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha, right, defends Portland’s Brandon Roy during the Thunder’s 83-74 loss Sunday at the Ford Center. Defense kept the Thunder in the game on a bad shooting night. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

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The silver lining in an 83-74 loss to Portland on Sunday night at the Ford Center was the Thunder still had a chance to win — even though Durant had a career-worst shooting night, Russell Westbrook was turnover prone and the Thunder set a franchise futility record for fewest assists (six).

"We didn’t make a lot of shots, but one thing that was shining bright was our defense,” said backup point guard Kevin Ollie. "Our defense helped us stay in the game. I don’t know if they could have done that last year.”

Ollie is right.

Last season, if Durant went 3-of-21 from the field and Westbrook committed nine of the team’s 19 turnovers, it probably would have resulted in a 20- or 25-point blowout loss.

Instead, Oklahoma City trailed 66-62 with 5:11 remaining and was still within striking range (74-68) with just under two minutes to play.

"That’s a good sign,” said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. "We competed. We hung in there defensively to give us a chance. That’s three consecutive games defensively we were pretty good.”

It’s only three games into a six-month grind. Statistics over an 82-game schedule even out to where early season aberrations are exposed.

But one week into the season, the defensive improvement is startling.

Through three games, the Thunder ranks second in the NBA in scoring defense (85.0), third in field goal percentage defense (47.5).

Last season, Oklahoma City surrendered 103.1 points a game and was 27th in field goal percentage defense (47.5).

"Even though we weren’t shooting well, we continued to get stops on the defensive end,” said Jeff Green. "It’s a big confidence boost, especially against a team like Portland, one of the top teams in the Western Conference. We were still in the game.”

Now a team captain, Durant said it’s his job to lead the team on both ends, even on a night he was 2-of-19 on non-dunks.

"We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t make shots,” Durant said. "But we made up for it on the defensive end to put ourselves in position to win.”

Durant was asked if he was disappointed by the loss but encouraged about the defense.

"Most definitely. That’s what it’s all about,” Durant said. "You have to get stops. But to win you have to score as well.

"It was just a tough night for us on the offensive end. It’s a long season. That’s the best part about it.”