The Portland Trail Blazers pulled off a remarkable comeback, overturning a 22-point deficit to defeat the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder 121–119 at the Moda Center. The victory marked one of the team’s most spirited performances of the young season.
It seemed almost impossible that Portland could recover after trailing by 22 points early in the first quarter. Yet, through relentless effort, they slowly chipped away at the Thunder’s lead and completely flipped the momentum by the final period.
“The Blazers earned their most impressive victory of the young season by unleashing their most gutsy performance, dismissing that seismic deficit to stun the Thunder, 121–119.”
Despite shooting just 30% for most of the night, Portland ignited late, hitting 13 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter, including six of seven from three-point range. When Holiday sank a midrange jumper with 6:44 to go, the Blazers seized a 97–96 lead and never looked back.
With the win, the Blazers improved to 5–3, snapping the reigning champions’ eight-game unbeaten start to the season. The Moda Center crowd of 16,822 erupted as Portland completed one of the most unlikely comebacks of the NBA season so far.
Author’s Summary: Portland turned a disastrous start into a thrilling victory, showcasing resilience and teamwork to hand Oklahoma City its first loss of the season.