OKC got some tough news with just eight games remaining in the season.
Darius Bazley would miss the rest of the year with a fracture in his right knee. As for SGA, he would miss the rest of the season too as he nurses a nagging ankle injury. OKC looked to move on from that against Portland.
Isaiah Roby scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied in overtime to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 134-131 on Monday night.
Aaron Wiggins added a career-best 28 points for the Thunder, who remain in second-to-last place in the Western Conference with losses in 11 of their last 13 games.
Ben McLemore had 28 points off the bench, including eight 3-pointers, for the Trail Blazers. Portland has lost four straight and sits outside the playoff picture at 12th in the West.
Wiggins’ layup gave the Thunder a 118-117 lead in overtime before McLemore’s 3-pointer for Portland. Theo Maledon answered with a 3 for Oklahoma City, but Drew Eubanks’ dunk gave the Blazers a 122-121 edge.
Roby’s 3-pointer and a dunk extended the Thunder’s lead to 126-122. Roby added a layup after Brandon Williams’ basket for the Blazers, and Oklahoma City held on.
Eubanks finished with a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Portland’s biggest lead was 91-81 early in the fourth quarter but it was close down the stretch in regulation. Roby hit a 3-pointer for the Thunder that tied it at 115 with 5.4 seconds left and Keon Johnson missed a 3 at the buzzer for Portland.
The Blazers had just eight players available. Damian Lillard had abdominal surgery in January and was ruled out for the season, while Anfernee Simons (left knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (left foot) continued to be sidelined.
Portland said rookie forward Trendon Watford sustained a bone bruise to his left femur in the team’s 115-98 loss at home to Houston. Fellow rookie Greg Brown III had a corneal abrasion to his left eye.
The Thunder also played just eight players. Before the game, coach Mark Daigneault said guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss the rest of the season because of right ankle soreness.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, five rebounds and 5.9 assists in 56 games this season. Daigneault said there was no reason to bring Gilgeous-Alexander back because there are so few games left in the season.
The Blazers led 61-58 at the break after a surprisingly competitive first half, given all the injuries.
The Thunder led by as many as seven in the first half, but Portland was able to stay close and finally pulled in front late when McLemore’s 3-pointer made it 60-58.
McLemore hit another 3 to put Portland ahead 83-78 in the third quarter.
OKC hosts Atlanta Wednesday.
kfor.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism