Blazers Hand Oklahoma City Thunder First Loss

Originally Published: Nov 1, 2009 9:18 PM CDT

Vitals | Box Score | Recap

Oklahoma Sports Staff and AP Wire Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered their first loss of the season Sunday night 83-74 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder with a game-high 23 points, but also matched a career-high with nine turnovers. Jeff Green chipped-in 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds.Kevin Durant finished with 16 points despite going an ice cold 3-of-21 as Oklahoma City shot just 34 percent from the floor.

"Once my shot wasn't falling, I tried to get to the line. I think I did a decent job of that. I've got to make those free throws," said Durant, who was 10 for 14 at the foul line."But I've got to make those shots where I was wide open or getting to the rim or pulling up in the lane. I've got to make them. Just point blank. My teammates depend on me to make those shots, so I've got to come through for them."

The Thunder trailed 65-62 with 5:11 left in the game. But Portland guard Brandon Roy’s three-point play off a driving layup gave the Trail Blazers a 70-62 lead with 3:59 to play. Roy had 16 points while Steve Blake was the led Portland in scoring with 18 points.

Rookie James Harden hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Thunder claw back from a 12 first quarter deficit, and eventually take the lead midway through the second quarter.

"Offense is what killed us tonight," Durant said. "We didn't take care of the ball, we didn't make shots. I think we made up for it on the defensive end. We put ourselves in a position to win the game, but we've got to score points."