- Portland Trailblazers (14-19, 10th in the West) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (28-5, 1st in the West)
- When: Wednesday, 31 December 2025 @ 7:00pm CST
- Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
- TV: FDSN-OK
- Offensive Rating: POR: 113.2 (21st) / OKC: 118.8 (5th)
- Defensive Rating: POR: 116.3 (20th) / OKC: 105.0 (1st)
- Net Rating: POR: -3.1 (21st) / OKC: 13.8 (1st)
- Current Streaks: POR: Won 2 in a row, 5-5 in their last 10 / OKC: Won 2 in a row, 6-4 in their last 10
The Set-Up
December 31st. A time to look back at the year that was and a time to look forward towards the year that will be. As the Oklahoma City Thunder look back, they can smile at the accomplishments and look towards a future that is as bright as any team in recent memory. A 68-win season with an MVP, a Finals MVP, two All-NBA players, two players on the All-Defense Teams, the Executive of the Year, and a championship, to boot. And looking forward, essentially the same team on the floor this season and heading into the next year and the possibility of juicy draft picks. Thank you, 2025. Helllloooo, 2026! Thunder Up!
This is the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between these two Northwest Division rivals. The Trailblazers beat the Thunder in their first meeting, famously giving the Thunder their first loss of the season. The Thunder returned the favor two-fold in late November, avenging their only loss of the season up to that point.
Betting Info, presented by FanDuel
- Line: OKC -15.5
- O/U: 234.5
Injury Report
OKC
- Brooks Barnhizer – DTD (ankle)
- Ousmane Dieng – OUT (calf)
- Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
- Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
- Nikola Topic – OUT (cancer treatment)
- Jaylin Williams – OUT (heel)
POR
- Jerami Grant – OUT (Achilles)
- Scoot Henderson – OUT (hamstring)
- Jrue Holiday – OUT (calf)
- Damian Lillard – OFS (Achilles)
- Kris Murray – Questionable (quad)
- Matisse Thybulle – OUT (thumb)
- Blake Wesley – OUT (foot)
Three Big Things
- Playing into the Thunder’s hands – The Trailblazers are bad at the things the Thunder feast off of. The Blazers play fast (5th in pace), but are reckless, leading the league in turnovers per game (17.2 per game) and turnover percentage (16.7% of possessions ending in a turnover). In addition, they are the 2nd worst team in terms of 3-point percentage, shooting 33.5% from deep as a team. This plays into the Thunder’s defensive ethos of protecting the paint and allowing, but contesting, 3-pointers.
- Securing the defensive glass – While the Thunder lead the league in defensive rebounding, this seems to be the stat that always gets them in trouble in key parts of the game. Portland is 3rd in offensive rebounds per game, at 14.2, and 3rd in offensive rebound percentage. In addition, they are 2nd in 2nd Chance points at 17.8 points per game. Donovan Clingan is 2nd in the league with 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. Robert Williams III pitches in with 2.2 offensive rebounds per game of his own and Toumani Camara grabs just under 2 offensive boards per game from the wing.
- The Deni Avdija FT problem – Deni Avdija has caught the NBA by surprise this season. He leads the Blazers in scoring at 25.5 points per game and is 2nd in the league in free throw attempts per game (ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I might add) at 9.7 FTA per game. In two of the games these two teams played, Avdija shot 16 and 23 free throws. That allowed Portland to win one of the games and remain competitive in the other. In the one game where OKC blew Portland out, Avdija shot only 3 free throws.
