Well, THAT was more like it. After two frustrating losses, the Portland Trail Blazers turned a tie game into a 123–103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Damian Lillard scored 25 points, Deni Avdija added 24, and Dame capped a huge third quarter with a deep three that brought the Moda Center to life.
Portland improved to 7–3, held the Thunder to 44 second-half points, and gave us a much happier ending than the last time we watched a game at the Moda Center. Let’s walk through it.
First Quarter: A Tight Start
Portland opened with Lillard, Toumani Camara, Avdija, Donovan Clingan and Sidy Cissoko, with Scoot Henderson moving to the bench. Clingan got to work early, grabbing offensive rebounds and hitting a 27-foot three off a Cissoko assist. He came into the night shooting 45.5% from three this season and went 1-for-2 against Oklahoma City. That puts him at 11-for-24, or 45.8%, through 10 games. Not bad for the big fella.
Portland built an early 18–11 lead after a Robert Williams III alley-oop and a Jrue Holiday three. Then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to work, and Oklahoma City fought back. The Thunder led 27–22 late in the period, but Cissoko drove for a dunk and Clingan finished a Holiday alley-oop with four seconds left. After one, Oklahoma City led 27–26.
Second Quarter: Back and Forth
Chris Youngblood hit two threes early in the quarter, both assisted by Henderson. Scoot also connected from deep, a welcome sight after his 0-for-5 night from three against San Antonio. Youngblood’s second three put Portland ahead 40–35, but the Thunder answered, and the lead kept changing hands.
Jared McCain made shots for Oklahoma City, and Gilgeous-Alexander kept Portland’s defense busy. Lillard tied the game at 52 with a three, and Avdija hit one of his own to put Portland ahead 57–54. But Aday Mara’s putback dunk tied it at 59 with 21 seconds left in the half. A whole lot of basketball, and we were right back where we started.
Third Quarter: Here Come the Blazers
The Blazers started pulling away in the third. Portland scored 38 points, held Oklahoma City to 21, and hit seven threes. Cissoko and Camara connected from deep early, but the Thunder were still ahead 71–70 midway through the period. Then Portland got moving.
Lillard hit from deep, drove for a layup and set up Robert Williams III for a dunk as the lead grew. Henderson added another three, and Avdija scored on a layup and then buried a three to make it 94–80.
With about 10 seconds left in the quarter, Lillard took an inbounds pass and dribbled nonchalantly up the floor. I was thinking, Does he realize there’s only 10 seconds left? Get moving! But apparently he did, because he pulled up from 30 feet just before the buzzer and drained it. The crowd went wild, and I instantly regretted not buying tickets for the game. Watching a shot like that from your couch, well, it just isn’t the same thing.
The Blazers led 97–80 heading to the fourth. After watching San Antonio score 45 in a third quarter against us, seeing Portland take over a third quarter felt quite nice.
Fourth Quarter: Finish the Job
The Thunder didn’t disappear, but Portland kept answering. Avdija scored twice early, and Clingan cut to the basket for a layup off a Cissoko pass. After Oklahoma City got within 14, Holiday answered with a three and a floater, stretching the lead to 108–89. Cissoko later hit a three off a Henderson assist, and Scoot made two free throws to push the lead to 22 with 4:34 left. He added a late three, too.
Portland won the final quarter 26–23 and closed out a 20-point win. No fourth-quarter adventure, no throwing the remote. Just a solid finish against a team that came in 8–2. I could get used to this.
A Few Things That Stood Out
Dame’s Shot. And Dame’s Night.
Dame’s late-third-quarter three will be replayed approximately a billion times, and I’m fine with that. Lillard finished with 25 points in 24 minutes, shooting 8-for-15 overall and 4-for-10 from three. He also went 5-for-5 at the line. Welcome home, Dame.
Scoot’s Shooting: Progress, With Some Perspective
Henderson finished with 11 points and four assists off the bench. He made three of five from deep after going 0-for-5 against the Spurs. That is encouraging, especially after his difficult start to the season.
He was also 3-for-12 overall, which means all three of his makes came from three. So, no, we’re not declaring every concern solved. But four assists, one turnover and some made jumpers? That’s a step in the right direction. Let’s see him build on it.
Free Throws: Much Better
Portland went 24-for-26 at the line—a terrific 92.3%. The Blazers shot 24-for-30 (80%) against San Antonio and 29-for-37 (78.4%) against the Lakers. The free throws were actually free tonight. What a concept.
Deni, Cissoko and Clingan
Avdija bounced back with 24 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Cissoko made his start count with 17 points and three assists, while Clingan grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked two shots. Portland also committed only nine total turnovers after giving the ball away 17 times against the Spurs and 24 times against the Lakers. That’s a much cleaner night.
Youngblood’s Foot
One concern: Youngblood left the game with a foot issue and was ruled out for the rest of the night. He had eight points in 14 minutes. With Portland already dealing with injuries, hopefully this is nothing serious. As of this recap, I haven’t seen a confirmed diagnosis or timetable, so we’ll wait for an update.
One win doesn’t erase those ugly losses, but this was exactly the kind of response we needed to see. And the Thunder are right back in Portland on Wednesday. Let’s do it again. And if Dame wants to hit a few more deep threes, I certainly won’t complain.
Blazers vs. Thunder Box Score — November 10, 2026
Score by Quarter
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 26 | 33 | 38 | 26 | 123 |
| Oklahoma City | 27 | 32 | 21 | 23 | 103 |
Team Statistics
| Statistic | Portland | Oklahoma City |
|---|---|---|
| Field goals | 40–91 (44.0%) | 37–84 (44.0%) |
| Three-pointers | 19–50 (38.0%) | 8–22 (36.4%) |
| Free throws | 24–26 (92.3%) | 21–27 (77.8%) |
| Offensive rebounds | 11 | 11 |
| Assists | 26 | 20 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 12 |
| Steals | 4 | 4 |
| Blocks | 4 | 4 |
Portland Players
| Player | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damian Lillard | 25 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Deni Avdija | 24 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Sidy Cissoko | 17 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Toumani Camara | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donovan Clingan | 7 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Jrue Holiday | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scoot Henderson | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Youngblood | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Williams III | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Branden Carlson | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Micah Potter | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Yang Hansen | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Oklahoma City Players
| Player | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 26 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jared McCain | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ajay Mitchell | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Bennett Stirtz | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Aday Mara | 10 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | 7 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Caruso | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Nique Clifford | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kenrich Williams | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Micah Peavy | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brooks Barnhizer | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Statistics: game box score and play-by-play. Injury update: NBC Sports.
Watch the Game Highlights
Full-game highlights:
The Trail Blazers’ official game recap: