Trail Blazers Game Notes: Portland Trail Blazers (21-29) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (14-34)

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (21-29) AT OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (14-34)

Monday, January 31 • 5:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Paycom Center

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

ALL TIME: Thunder lead, 123-120

PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 78-44

THUNDER HOME: Thunder lead, 79-42

LAST PORTLAND WIN: 133-85, 4/3/21 (Por.)

LAST OKLAHOMA CITY WIN: 125-122, 1/25/21 (Por.)

CURRENT WIN STREAK: Two (Por.)

• Monday's game is the first of four meetings between the Thunder and Trail Blazers this season, Portland took the 2020-21 series, 2-1.

• LAST MEETING: Portland defeated Oklahoma City 133-85, marking the second largest margin of victory in franchise history. Eight Trail Blazers scored in double-figures, including six players off the bench. CJ McCollum led the way with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists while Damian Lillard dropped 16 points and six assists. Anfernee Simons led the bench scoring with 16 points.

• Portland ranks 13th in the NBA with 7.5 steals per game while Oklahoma City ranks 9th with 13.4 turnovers per game.

• Both teams like to shoot it from deep, the Trail Blazers rank 7th in the NBA with 38 attempts per game while the Thunder rank 8th with 37.6 per game. Portland holds the edge, knocking down 36.3% of their attempts (7th) vs. 31.2% (30th) for Oklahoma City.

• Anfernee Simons has made at least four three-pointers in seven consecutive games, tied for the longest streak in team history and tied for the third-longest streak in the NBA this season (Fred VanVleet - 10; Stephen Curry - 8; Buddy Hield/Simons - 7)

• CJ McCollum is averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his last five games against the Thunder, scoring 20-plus points in four of five games.

• Jusuf Nurkić has recorded a double-double in three of his last 10 games against OKC, averaging 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.

• Robert Covington set his career high in blocks (six) against Oklahoma City on February 16, 2021. In 11 career games against the Thunder, he is averaging 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.36 steals and 1.18 blocks.

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 17.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in nine career games against Portland. He has scored 20-plus points in three straight games against the Trail Blazers, including 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists last January.

• Josh Giddey ranks in the Top 10 among rookies in both points per game (11.5, 8th) and rebounds (7.4, 3rd) while ranking 18th in the NBA overall in assists per game (6.2).

ANFERNEE FOR THREE: Anfernee Simons has made at least four three-pointers in each of his last seven games, tied with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum for the longest streak in franchise history and tied for the third-longest streak in the NBA this season. Overall, he has hit five-plus three-pointers in 12 games this season, the most in the NBA for a player 22 years old or younger. His 18 career games with five-plus three-pointers are tied for the 7th-most in NBA history for a player before turning 23.

HOT HANDS: Portland recorded three consecutive games shooting over 50% between Jan. 26 - Jan. 30, shooting 137-of-252 (54.4%) over the stretch. It marked the second time this season the team has shot above 50% in back-to-back games (Nov. 20 & 23).

RESPECT THE HUSTLE: Robert Covington is the only player in the NBA this season with 60-plus steals and 50-plus blocks. He averages 1.44 steals per game (26th in NBA) and 1.31 blocks per game (22nd), one of only two players to rank in the Top 26 in both categories. His nine games this season with at least two blocks and two steals are tied for second-most in the league.

DROPPING DIMES: Portland recorded 27 assists vs. Dallas on Jan. 26, marking three consecutive games with 25-plus assists, the team's longest streak of the season.

NURK IN THE NEW YEAR: Jusuf Nurkić continued his hot start to 2022 with his fourth consecutive game with 18-plus points and 14-plus rebounds on Jan. 19 at Boston, making him the first player in the NBA with such a streak this season. His final stat line - 29 points, 17 rebounds and six assists marks his sixth career 25/15/5 performance, the most of any Trail Blazer in the last 40 years (LaMarcus Aldridge - 3). His 12.4 rebounds per game in January rank 4th in the NBA while his 17.5 points and 3.3 assists rank 9th and 11th among centers.

Game #50 - Chicago 130, Portland 116 — January 30, 2022, United Center, Chicago, Illinois

Portland fell to Chicago 130-116 at the United Center ... Six on each team scored in double figures, with each squad having three players score 20-plus ... CJ McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 29 points, five rebounds and four assists ... Norman Powell scored 22 points (7-10 FG, 5-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT) with four rebounds and one assist ... Anfernee Simons knocked down five three-pointers, his seventh straight game with four-plus, tying a franchise-record, finishing with 21 points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal ... Robert Covington tallied 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals ... Jusuf Nurkić scored 11 points (3-5 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 4-6 FT) with four rebounds ... Trendon Watford scored 10 points with two rebounds, two assists and three blocks ... Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 24 points, 14 boards and three assists ... DeMar Derozan added 23 points and 10 assists while Zach LaVine added 20 points.

Game #49 - Portland 125, Houston 110 — January 28, 2022, Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

Portland defeated Houston 125-110 behind a great shooting night for the Trail Blazers, 46-of-81 (56.8%), the second game in a row the team has shot over 50 percent ... Anfernee Simons led the scoring effort with 27 points (11-17 FG, 5-9 3-PT, 0-0 FT), six assists and three rebounds ... Jusuf Nurkić recorded his 23rd double-double of the season with 25 points (8-11 FG, 9-11 FT), 13 boards, one steal and one block ... CJ McCollum dropped 26 points (10-20 FG, 4-9 3-PT, 2-3 FT) with five assists and three rebounds ... Robert Covington grabbed five boards, three blocks and two steals to go with 13 points and one assist ... Norman Powell tallied 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals ... Ben McLemore knocked down 4-of-9 from deep for 12 points ... Christian Wood led the Rockets with 21 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks ... Garrison Mathews contributed 21 points, and three assists.

Game #48 - Dallas 132, Portland 112 — January 26, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland lost to Dallas 132-112 in the second game of a home back-to-back for the Trail Blazers ... Anfernee Simons led Portland with 23 points (9-14 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 1-1 FT), seven assists and two rebounds ... Norman Powell added 19 points (5-17 FG, 2-9 3-PT, 7-12 FT), nine rebounds, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes ... CJ McCollum dropped 20 points (8-16 FG, 4-10 3-PT, 0-1 FT), six assists, four rebounds and a steal ... Jusuf Nurkić snapped his double-double streak but finished with 18 points (7-11 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 4-7 FT), eight rebounds, three assists and one steal ... Tony Snell started for the eighth time this season and finished with two points (1-3 FG, 0-2 3-PT), three rebounds and one assist ... Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double for the Mavericks with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists ... Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Game #47 - Minnesota 109, Portland 107 — January 25, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland fell to Minnesota 109-107 at Moda Center ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied his sixth consecutive double-double with 20 points (8-18 FG, 4-6 FT), 14 boards, four assists and one steal ... Nassir Little tied his season-high with four three-pointers en route to 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists ... Anfernee Simons scored 17 points (5-18 FG, 4-13 3-PT, 3-3 FT) with seven assists and four rebounds ... CJ McCollum contributed 15 points (5-15 FG, 3-9 3-PT, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, four assists and one block ... Robert Covington scored eight points (3-11 FG, 0-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds ... Norman Powell returned to action and scored eight points (2-6 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with five rebounds, two assists and one steal... Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 40 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks ... Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 17 points and 17 boards.

Game #46 - Portland 114, Toronto 105 — January 23, 2022, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario

Portland closed out a six-game road trip with a 114-105 defeat of Toronto at Scotiabank Arena ... The Trail Blazers shot over 50% for the first time this season, finishing 45-of-85 (52.9%) from the field and 18-of-32 (56.3%) from deep ... CJ McCollum led the way with 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals ... Nassir Little contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block ... Anfernee Simons also dropped 19 points, adding five assists, three rebounds and a steal ... Jusuf Nurkić recorded his fifth consecutive double-double, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, two blocks and a steal ... Ben McLemore knocked down five three-pointers off the bench, totaling 17 points and one rebound ... Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists ... Fred VanVleet contributed 19 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

The Trail Blazers, playing on the second of a back-to-back, have yet to release an injury report for Monday’s game at Oklahoma City.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right ankle; sprain), Vit Krejci (right ankle; sprain), Aleksej Pokusevski (G League - on assignment), Isaiah Roby (G League - on assignment) and Paul Watson (G League - two-way) are out.

Monday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.