OKLAHOMA CITY (NBA.com exclusive) --  Portland point guard Steve Blake, who had struggled mightily in his team's first three games, hit a 3-point lightning bolt with 1:30 left in the game to end the Oklahoma City Thunder's chance at a 3-0 start to the season.

Blake scored 18 points to lead Portland to an 83-74 win Sunday night inside Oklahoma City's Ford Center. Blake had hit only 3 of 13 shots to begin the season, but he nailed six of nine against the Thunder including four of five from long distance.

"Coming off the loss in Houston and coming in here I thought we gutted it out," said Portland coach Nate McMillian. "I thought our defense was real good -- we made them work."

Oklahoma City was held to a franchise-low six assists and turned the ball over 19 times. But the Thunder managed to play some defense, too.

Blazers' shooting guard Brandon Roy was limited to just 16 points on 5 of 17 shooting. He said he was more pleased with his team's defensive effort than he was concerned about his own offensive struggles.

"We just wanted to come out and have a better effort and we got that tonight," he said. "Our offense wasn't so good but our defense was. We did a great job on Kevin Durant. He's their guy so if we can slow him down that's good.

"The Thunder have been playing good basketball. This was a great win. We needed it. This was a huge step forward."

Durant wasn't just slowed -- he was almost stopped. The budding star hitting just 3 of 21 shots and scored 16 points -- 10 of which came on free throws.

"I wasn't making shots tonight," Durant said. "It was a tough game for me but I have to come back to practice tomorrow and work even harder. I have to lead this team in the hard times and in the good times."

"Kevin is a very talented offensive player," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Tonight he just didn't have his shot. You have nights like that. I thought he forced up a couple of bad shots in the first half but he had a lot of good looks. The shots just didn't fall. But he got after it defensively."

Defense was a problem for Oklahoma City last season, when the Thunder were near the bottom of the NBA in points allowed and field goal defense. So far this season they've not allowed an opponent to score more than 90 points.

"We hung in there defensively," Brooks said. "Of course that's about as bad as we can play offensively."

Point guard Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 23 points, 18 in the second half. But Westbrook played out of control at times and had a season-high nine turnovers. Forward Jeff Green had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Blazers had five players in double figures, led by Blake's 18 and Roy's 16. Travis Outlaw came off the bench to contribute 12, matching center Greg Oden's production.

"I'm just trying to come out with intensity," Oden said. "I'm just trying to bring something else to this team."

McMillan was impressed with the big man's play.

"I thought he got us off to a good start establishing the post down low," McMillian said. "We have to learn to find him and get him the ball. I thought he did a good job tonight."

Portland started fast and dominated the first quarter, outscoring Oklahoma City 25-15. The Trail Blazers' defense, a problem in the first three games, was outstanding in the opening stanza. Portland limited the Thunder to just 35 percent shooting while forcing six turnovers.

The tables turned in the second quarter as Oklahoma City went on a 15-4 run, sparked by two James Harden 3-pointers, to take a 30-29 lead. The Blazers turned the ball over seven times in the first six minutes of the quarter but settled down to lead 39-37 at halftime.

Despite the Thunder's abysmal shooting, they were down only three points late in the game. But a couple of turnovers and missed shots doomed them down the stretch.