Mike Muscala topped the top six 3-pointers in the career and scored 23 points at the quarterback to help Oklahoma City Thunder post a 125-122 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers host Monday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points at team level and added nine rebounds and six assists as the Thunder improved to 1-3 on a five-game road trip.
Darius Bazley had 19 points and seven rebounds, Isaiah Roby scored 16 points and Hamidou Diallo had 11 for Oklahoma City.
Anfernee Simons set quarter-high points of 26 points and six points-3 for Portland, who have fallen for just the third time in the last nine games. Damian Lillard dropped 26 points and 10 assists, Carmelo Anthony scored 22 best points of the season and Gary Trent Jr. had 22 points.
Enes Kanter had 13 points and 22 best replays of the season for the Trail Blazers, who fired 46.9 percent from the field, including 14 of 41 from a 3-point field.
Portland used a wild 9-1 run to pull inside 123-120 on Lillard’s 3-point lead with 5.5 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander shared two free throws with 3.7 seconds to play and a 22-footer Lillard dug with 1.6 seconds left to make it a two-point margin.
Gilgeous-Alexander shared two free throws with 0.9 seconds left, missing the second and the Trail Blazers had no chance to tie a legitimate effort.
The Thunder converted 51.2 percent of their field goal attempts and were 18 out of 40 from behind the arc as they beat Portland for the seventh time in the past nine meetings.
The Trail Blazers got their first basket of the game but did not lead again until Anthony’s basket put his team ahead 95-94 with 10:33 left in the game.
Shortly afterwards, Oklahoma City put together a 12-2 promotion with a Diallo basket giving the club a 111-100 lead with 6:24 left.
Lillard and 3-Anthony’s position helped Portland move within 117-111 with 3:26 left but the Thunder responded with Bazley’s 3-point and Roby’s two free throws to push the lead. back to 11 with 2:30 to play before the Trail Blazers made one last charge.
Oklahoma City started strongly and led by as many as 17 in the opening quarter before settling for a 34-24 lead coming into the second quarter.
Muscala made five tackles as part of a 16-point half when Oklahoma City led 69-60 at the break.
Oklahoma City maintained a 94-91 lead into the quarter-finals.
–Field Media Level