Roby scores 30 as Thunder beat Blazers 134-131 in overtime

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Isaiah Roby scored 30 points on 11 of 13 shooting and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied in overtime to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 134-131 on Monday night.

Aaron Wiggins added a career-high 28 points for the Thunder, who remain in second-to-last place in the Western Conference with losses in 11 of their last 13 games.

Ben McLemore scored 28 points for the Trail Blazers, including eight 3-point shots. Portland has lost four straight games and is also out of the playoff picture in 12th place in the West.

Wiggins’ layup gave the Thunder a 118-117 lead in overtime before McLemore hit a 3-point shot for Portland. Theo Maledon answered with a triple for Oklahoma City, but Drew Eubanks’ dunk gave the Blazers a 122-121 lead.

A Roby triple and a dunk extended the Thunder lead to 126-122. Roby added a layup after rookie Brandon Williams’ basket for the Blazers, and Oklahoma City held on.

“We played to win no matter the opponent. It’s a good experience and good vibes right now,” said Oklahoma City rookie guard Vit Krejci, who matched his season high with 12 points.

Eubanks finished with 27 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Williams contributed 25 points and 12 assists for the Blazers.

Portland’s largest lead was 91-81 early in the final quarter, but it was close down the stretch in regulation. Roby made a 3-point basket for the Thunder that tied it at 115 with 5.4 seconds left and Keon Johnson missed a 3-point basket down the stretch for Portland.

“It gave us a chance to compete again and get that win,” Maledon said of Roby’s big 3. “We had the momentum going and did a great job with that.”

The Blazers had only eight players available. Damian Lillard underwent abdominal surgery in January and was ruled out for the season, while Anfernee Simons (left knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (left foot) remain sidelined.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Isaiah Roby, right, dribbles past Portland Trail Blazers forward Elijah Hughes during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore. on Monday, March 28, 2022.

Portland said rookie forward Trendon Watford suffered a bone bruise in his left femur in the team’s 115-98 home loss to Houston. Fellow rookie Greg Brown III had a corneal abrasion in his left eye.

“Boy, we played hard. We played our tails off. We had our chances, but we lost our concentration at some really important times,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.

The Thunder also used only eight players. Before the game, coach Mark Daigneault said shooting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss the rest of the season with a sore right ankle.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, five rebounds and 5.9 assists in 56 games this season. Daigneault said there was no reason to bring Gilgeous-Alexander back because there are so few games left.

“It’s nice to be able to give guys the types of minutes that we’re able to give these guys right now,” Daigneault said. “It’s nice to be able to give these guys an extended run so they can continue to develop and continue to play.”

The Blazers led 61-58 at halftime after a surprisingly competitive first half, given all the injuries.

The Thunder built as much as a seven-point lead in the first half, but Portland was able to keep it close and finally pulled ahead at the end when McLemore hit a 3-point basket to make it 60-58.

McLemore scored another triple to put Portland ahead 83-78 in the third quarter.

TIP-INS

Thunder: Tre Mann (right hamstring strain) was a late scratch. … F Darius Bazley will not play the rest of the season because of a fractured right knee. Bazley was averaging 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. … Maledon finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Aleksej Pokusevski was close to a triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. … The Thunder matched a season-high with 20 3-point shots.

Trail Blazers: ESPN reported that the Blazers plan to sign forward Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract. Portland had not announced the deal. … Williams had four 3-point shots in the first half, surpassing his previous career high of three. He finished with five.

HAS RETURNED.

The Blazers’ next target is New Orleans, and veteran Portland point guard CJ McCollum, who was traded before the February deadline when the Blazers broke up their roster for an offseason rebuild.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for everybody to have CJ back in the building. He’ll probably be overwhelmed by all the love he’s getting from our locker room and the fans. It’s very well-deserved,” Billups said. “So I’m happy to see him. I’m not happy to game plan for him, obviously.”

NEXT

Thunder: Host Atlanta on Wednesday.

Trail Blazers: Host New Orleans on Wednesday.

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