Portland Gets Another Game Against Oklahoma City

The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, winning convincingly. In the 123-103 victory, Portland outscored Oklahoma City 38-21 in the third quarter. With the help of Damian Lillard's 25 points, including a deep bomb that ignited the crowd, the Blazers find themselves 7-3, with a chance to take down the Thunder again tonight.

If the Blazers want to replicate their success tonight, they need to build on what worked yesterday. Here is what to watch for:

Two-time Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points on 22 shots. Gilgeous-Alexander also shot 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. Portland's Toumani Camara had the responsibility of being the primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander. He has to keep up his defensive intensity and focus. Portland must force Gilgeous-Alexander into uncomfortable looks.

Both teams shot 44% from the field. What separated Portland was the 19 made 3-pointers to Oklahoma City's eight. The Thunder outrebounded the Blazers by one, with 45 rebounds.

For the Thunder, big man and second option Chet Holmgren remains sidelined with a small tear in the patellar tendon of his right knee. Jalen Williams will be out for the remainder of the season, and Cason Wallace may not return until the end of the regular season. The Blazers must keep their foot on the gas and force role players to make big plays down the stretch.

Moda Center was alive and energized yesterday. Coming off a win over the same team a day earlier and winning again is tough to accomplish. It's difficult enough to beat elite teams more than once in the regular season, but to beat the same elite team two days in a row would cement the Blazers as a contender in the Western Conference.

The X-factor for Portland tonight will be Donovan Clingan. Clingan snagged 13 rebounds last night, four of those being on the offensive glass.

If Lillard and Deni Avdija can't get it going offensively, Clingan can be a player to pick up the slack.

A win tonight would put the Blazes at 8-3 and in the upper half of the Western Conference standings. The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs only have two losses and have a good chance of winning again. The Spurs travel to Chicago to face a 1-8 Bulls squad, and the Lakers are on the road against a 1-10 Milwaukee Bucks team.

Following tonight's matchup, Portland will play Sacramento in their second NBA Cup game on Friday. With the Blazers already 0-1 in the NBA Cup, they will be hungry for a win.