NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers

The Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, to face the Portland Trail Blazers in a really exciting match up between the 3rd seed and the 4th seed in the Western Conference.

Before the match, the Thunder had a 39-25 record which was identical to the Portland Trail Blazers, who were also at 39-25. The match ended up going to overtime and finally, it was the Thunder who came out on top, winning the thrilling game 129-121.

Let us look at the 3 biggest talking points from this game:

#3 - The Portland Trail Blazers need a better supporting cast:

The Portland Trail Blazers are finally clicking this season as a team and will be looking to finish their regular season in strong fashion, just like last season. They have not been able to keep up their strong performances going this season due to a lack of good, consistent role players.

In the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, even though Damian Lillard dropped a massive 51 points, along with 9 assists and 5 rebounds and CJ McCollum had a solid game, chipping in with 25 points and 5 rebounds, the Blazers came out on the losing side, as no other player reached 15 points on the night.

Nurkic received his marching orders after he played 34 minutes. Nobody stepped up to the plate, with players like Enes Kanter, Jake Layman, Al-Farouq Aminu, among others, failing to even reach double-digits in points. Rodney Hood played a huge 32 minutes, but failed to capitalize, scoring just 10 points.

If the role players at the Blazers stay this inconsistent, even though they will make the playoffs, they might not be able to keep hold of their home court advantage and might not make it past the 1st round again.

#2 Damian Lillard's still got it:

Portland Trail Blazers are heavily reliant on their All-Star guard

Damian Lillard had a superb game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and it shows how dependent this Blazers team is on Lillard. Lillard was on fire, torching the Thunder with 51 points in the game, shooting over 53% from the field, making 15 of his 28 shot attempts.

He could not get going from beyond the arc, making just 3 of his 10 attempts, however, he was making plays for his team, dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds in an all-round amazing performance.

He managed to get a steal and 2 blocks as well, showing up on the defensive end. If his performances continue to be of this high standard through the remaining games of the regular season, the Blazers just need some of the other players to support him.

The Blazers will look to keep their home court advantage heading into the playoffs and Lillard's form will play a huge role in their push.

#1 Russell Westbrook and Paul George are unstoppable right now:

The Oklahoma City Thunder probably pulled off the biggest coup in the off-season, getting Paul George to re-sign with the team. He has been a serious MVP candidate this season and has shown no signs of stopping.

He is averaging a career high in points (28.6), rebounds (8.1), assists (4.2), steals (2.3) and 3 pointers made (3.8) and all of this has been possible due to Russell Westbrook giving up more of the control to George.

He is still a ball-dominant guard, who is again averaging a triple double this season, with 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.6 assists a game. In the overtime win over the Blazers, Westbrook had a great game, scoring 37 points, with 7 rebounds and 3 assists, making 14 of his 28 shot attempts, while Paul George too had a superb game, scoring 32 points, with 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Both of them are now playing really well in tandem and the Thunder are looking like a really dangerous team for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.