OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook lowered his shoulders, loading up his explosive first step for another burst to the rim.
But as Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu turned to thwart the drive, Westbrook used a quick crossover to stop his momentum and rose for a three-pointer. Aminu twirled around, powerless to contest the long range shot he wasn’t anticipating.
Westbrook’s three-pointer dropped and he sauntered back toward the Oklahoma City bench, yelling “Where you going!?”
No one needed to answer his rhetorical taunt. The Portland Trail Blazers were heading to their second straight loss, falling 105-99 Sunday afternoon at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook finished with 42 points, eight assists and four rebounds. He had 19 points in a tour de force fourth quarter performance that he capped with his highlight three-pointer with 1:18 remaining, a shot that put Oklahoma City up 100-93 and effectively ended the Blazers comeback push.
“He doesn’t stop,” Damian Lillard said, noting that Westbrook took 34 shots en route to his league-high eighth 40-point game.
Lillard led Portland with 29 points and seven rebounds, CJ McCollum added 19 points. But the Blazers couldn’t overcome an Oklahoma City surge to open the fourth quarter and then couldn’t slow Westbrook down the stretch.
“We didn’t do the things in the fourth quarter that you have to do; come up with loose balls, execute on offense,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “And Westbrook played great.”
Portland (22-30) climbed back from early eight-point deficit with a 36-point second quarter and led by six at halftime. There were 10 lead changes and eight ties in the third quarter as neither team could gain substantial footing. But the Thunder (30-22) grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the fourth and then held on behind Westbrook’s late brilliance and Portland’s poor execution.
“They outplayed us in the fourth quarter,” Stotts said. “That’s the bottom line. It came down to that.”
In many ways that has been the story of the Blazers season. They just haven’t been sharp enough on either side of the ball in close games. Portland dropped to 9-14 on the season when games are within three points in the final three minutes. On Sunday, the final minutes came down to effort and execution and the Blazers were lacking in both areas.
“They out aggressived us down the stretch,” Lillard said. “It felt like they wanted it a little bit more than we did. In that situation, we gotta come harder. We got to want it more.”
How does a team eight games under .500 and fighting for its playoff life get out hustled when it matters?
“It’s frustrating. But I do think that we competed,” Lillard said when press to explain how the Thunder could find urgency the Blazers were missing.
“We didn’t come out here and not have a chance to win. We were in position to win the game. Once again, like many games we’ve had this season, we had an opportunity. We didn’t always take advantage of it.”
Against the Thunder, it was crucial McCollum turnover in a four-point game with just under a two minutes to go and then a forced Lillard layup on the next possession. Better results on either of those possessions could flip the game. Instead, the Blazers came up empty and Westbrook slammed the door shut with a dazzling three-pointer.
Come April the Blazers will likely look back on this game and 25 or so others and realize they just didn’t advantage when the opportunities were there.
Next up
The Blazers finish up their two-game trip at Dallas on Tuesday. It’s a quick turnaround for a rematch with the Mavericks, who beat the Blazers 108-104 in Portland last Friday.
— Mike Richman
mrichman@oregonian.com
@mikegrich
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