The Portland Trail Blazers (43 - 37) defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder (54 - 25) 120 - 115 at Moda Center on Wednesday. Billy Donovan opted to rest most of his starters, as Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka were all sidelined with the playoffs around the corner. The matchup worked in favor of the Blazers, as they now are in a deadlock with the Memphis Grizzlies for the 5 - seed in the Western Conference. Portland had little trouble handling the Enes Kanter led Oklahoma squad until the fourth quarter. Kanter flashed his brilliant offensive play in his matchup, and led all scorers with 33 points, in addition to a whopping 20 rebounds, on 13 - of - 18 shooting. His defense has always been in question, but when the bench forward steps up that strong in the scoring and rebound department, it’s tough to worry about his one sided game. Dion Waiters was given the green light with all stars Westbrook and Durant on the sideline, and turned in a 25 point performance on 10 - of - 19 shooting. Anthony Morrow drew the start as well, and added 19 points and three assists. Portland, who has surprised many this season after eclipsing their expected win total by 10 wins at this point in the season, rallied behind C.J. McCollum and Al-Farouq Aminu. The back court duo of McCollum and Lillard is dangerous to deal with at all points, but it was Lehigh shooting guard who turned in the bulk of the Blazers offense, as he finished with 26 points, three rebounds and three assists. Lillard struggled to find his stroke from the field and scored just 11 points on 13 shots, but he added nine assists and kept the ball movement in tact. Aminu has been a bright spot for Portland in the second half of the season, and contributed another strong performance with 27 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and one blocked shot in 37 minutes of action. Both teams play on Saturday, as the Blazers host the Minnesota Timberwolves (26 - 52), while the Thunder head south to take on the Sacramento Kings (31 - 47).
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