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2024-25 NBA Regular Season
Oklahoma City Thunder v Portland Trail Blazers
Paycom Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Saturday 8 March 2025
Tip-off at 03:00
Oklahoma City will host the Portland Trail Blazers at the Paycom Center on Saturday morning after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 41 points in Thunder’s 120-103 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Oklahoma City has a strong 30-10 record in games against conference opponents. The Thunder also boast an impressive 40-2 record in contests decided by a margin of 10 points or greater.
Portland has a 5-8 record when facing teams from the Northwest Division. The Trail Blazers have a 6-3 record in closely contested games, decided by 3 points or less.
In his latest game, which resulted in a 137-128 victory against the Houston Rockets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 51 points. He shot 18 out of 30 from the field, achieving a 60% shooting rate, and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
This marked the fourth occasion this season that the former Kentucky player has surpassed the 50-point threshold, a feat unmatched by any other player who has done so more than once.
Teammate Chet Holmgren has sent a message to the league regarding Gilgeous-Alexander, reflecting on the season he’s put together.
“It’s just another thing that we’re not surprised by," Holmgren said. "I think he’s the MVP of the league, and that’s what the MVP does. You guys might be surprised, but we aren’t. We see how hard he works, and clearly, it's paid off.”
The Portland Trail Blazers on the other hand, are coming off the back of a 128-118 loss to the Boston Celtics and will be looking to get back to winning ways in this encounter.
Blazers point guard Anfernee Simons was a standout player in the loss, scoring 30 points in the games and making 12 of 21 field goals. He also had six assists and led the team in both scoring and assists.
The Blazers will be hoping to keep their star man as he’s been listed as an offseason trade target for Orlando Magic, according to Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report.
"The same effectively all applies to Simons as well, though he's a tad older and not quite as tools-y. Whitmore doesn't play the perfect position to solve this problem (small forward), but he might have a deep enough bag to still grow into a third-scorer role with the Magic,” said Buckley.
Oklahoma City Thunder v Portland Trail Blazers - Head-to-head, Regular Season
Games played: 258
Oklahoma City Thunder wins: 138
Portland Trail Blazers wins: 120
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