PORTLAND Trail Blazers ended Oklahoma City Thunder’s unbeaten start with a gritty 121-119 comeback victory in the 2025–2026 NBA regular season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
After trailing by as many as 20 points at 21–41, the Blazers steadily chipped away at the deficit and seized a 100–96 lead behind back-to-back baskets from Jrue Holiday.
Portland extended the cushion to 115–106 through the efforts of Jerami Grant, Deni Avdija, and Holiday, but the Thunder mounted a late rally led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who trimmed the gap to 118–119 with seven seconds left.
Holiday calmly sank two free throws to make it 121–118 with six second remaining, while OKC guard Isaiah Joe split his final two attempts at the line, sealing the win for Portland.
Avdija powered the Blazers with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, while Holiday added 22. Grant, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, and Duop Reath contributed 20, 18, 16, and 12 points, respectively, as Portland improved to 5–3.
Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 35 points, Aaron Wiggins had 27, and Ajay Mitchell, Joe, and Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in 21, 14, and 10 for the Thunder, who slipped to 8–1.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers leaned on another dominant outing from Luka Doncic to pull off a 118–116 escape against San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers improved to 7–2 while the Spurs fell to 5–2 after suffering their second straight defeat.
Doncic flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 35 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds, and five steals. Deandre Ayton added 22 points, while Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura tallied 17 and 15, respectively.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 19 points. Stephon Castle and Jeremy Sochan scored 16 apiece, Devin Vassell added 15, Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie had 14 apiece, and Keldon Johnson ended with 12.
In other games, the New Orleans Pelicans edged the Dallas Mavericks, 101–99; the Brooklyn Nets downed the Indiana Pacers, 112–103; and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Utah Jazz, 114–103./PN
