Trail Blazers and Thunder Set for Conference Clash
The Portland Trail Blazers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on Monday night.

The Trail Blazers (21-29) have been showing signs of improved play of late compared to earlier in the season, but they'll enter Monday's contest having dropped three of their past four games. Their most recent stumble came Sunday afternoon, when they suffered a 130-116 defeat to the Chicago Bulls. CJ McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 29 points, complementing them with five rebounds and four assists. Norman Powell supplied 22 points, four boards and one assist. Anfernee Simons registered 21 points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal. Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic posted matching 11-point tallies while pulling down seven and four rebounds, respectively.

The Trail Blazers will remain without Damian Lillard (abdominal), Larry Nance (knee) and Nassir Little (shoulder) for Monday's contest. CJ Elleby (hamstring) is likely to be listed as questionable at best.

The Thunder (14-34) are enduring a forgettable season overall, and they'll enter Monday's clash with seven consecutive losses and 12 of the last 13 overall. Oklahoma City's latest stumble came Friday night, when they dropped a narrow 113-110 decision to the Indiana Pacers. Luguentz Dort paced the Thunder with 27 points, complementing them with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Josh Giddey generated a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double that included five assists and one steal. Darius Bazley furnished 14 points, three rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal. Shai Gigleous-Alexander and Ty Jerome posted matching 10-point tallies, with the former also posting three assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block over 17 minutes before suffering an ankle injury that forced his exit.

The Thunder will remain without Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) for Monday's game.

Monday's contest marks the first of four meetings between the teams this season. The Trail Blazers won the 2020-21 season series with the Thunder by a 2-1 margin.
Posted on: 1/30/2022 9:23 PM