Sunday night was a chance for revenge for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who hosted the Portland Trail Blazers — the only team that has defeated OKC all season. That lone loss came in a game the Thunder dominated early, building a 22-point lead before it slipped away and the team lost in the final possessions. 

If payback was the goal, OKC delivered. And this time the game was finished before it even began. It ended up being a 122-95 final score, as Oklahoma City held Portland under 100 points.

Similar to the first meeting, the Thunder came out on fire. After the first quarter, OKC led 39-18, had triple the assists, more than double the rebounds, shot 60% from three, generated 11 points off turnovers, stacked up eight second chance points, and controlled every part of the game.

The difference this time was the Thunder never let Portland back in. Oklahoma City split the second quarter 28-28 to maintain the cushion, then pushed the lead even further in the third. The margin ballooned to 30 as OKC slammed the door and allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and other key players to rest the fourth quarter, something this team has done often this season.

Speaking of Gilgeous-Alexander, he put together one of his best performances of the year. He scored 24 in the first half, his highest scoring first half of the season, and finished with 37 points in just 30 minutes along with seven assists and five rebounds. He was 13-of-18 from the floor, perfect 9-of-9 at the line, and 2-of-3 from deep, marking an ultra efficient night from the superstar.

Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander it was a slow night for the other starters, none of whom scored more than seven points. But off the bench the Thunder got a major spark from Ajay Mitchell, who finished with 20 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting with four assists to be the team’s second-leading scorer. Isaiah Joe added 10 points of his own, but it ended up being a very unorthodox game in which only three players reached double figures and the Thunder still took care of business with ease.

From here, the Thunder prepares for a huge matchup Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s an NBA Cup contest against the team Oklahoma City faced in last season’s Western Conference finals, and it will be one of the biggest tests of the season so far.