Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Player props, injury report and prediction | NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder try to avoid back-to-back defeats against the same opponent when they face Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center in the early hours of Thursday morning UK time, with Portland aiming to win both games of a two-night series.

Portland's 123-103 win in game one ended a four-game winning streak for the Thunder, who had won 19 of their previous 20 meetings with the Trail Blazers before that result. Oklahoma City also start the longest road trip of their season in Portland, so splitting the two games would be a useful result.

How are Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers shaping up?

Form Guide (Last 5)

Oklahoma City Thunder 8-3 · 5th in the West

WWWWL

117.2 PPG

104.6 Opp PPG

+12.6 Diff

B2B Rest

Portland Trail Blazers 7-3 · 8th in the West

WWLLW

118.8 PPG

116.2 Opp PPG

+2.6 Diff

B2B Rest

Oklahoma City arrive 8-3 and fifth in the Western Conference standings, and their last five games show a side scoring 117.2 points per game while allowing 104.6.

Four of those five were wins, including a 128-97 victory at Memphis and a 114-75 home win over Washington, so game one looks like an outlier rather than a trend.

Portland sit 7-3 and eighth in the West, scoring 118.8 points per game over the same stretch but conceding 116.2, and they lost to the Lakers and Spurs before beating the Thunder.

The Blazers' defence is the weaker side of that ledger, since opponents shoot 50.0% against them while Oklahoma City hold teams to 45.9%.

Portland carry the better attack on season-long numbers, with an offensive rating of 118.5 against 112.7, and they share the ball more with 26.2 assists per game to the Thunder's 22.8.

Oklahoma City counter with the sturdier defence and the cleaner possession game, turning the ball over 13.1 times per game to Portland's 16.1 and holding a rebounding edge of 47.1 to 45.1.

Game one swung on Portland's 19 three-pointers to eight and only nine turnovers, a shooting night well above their usual 15.5 makes per game, which gives Oklahoma City reason to expect some regression, and Oklahoma City's slower pace of 98.7 possessions per game against 101.1 also works against a shootout.

Both teams are playing the second night of a back-to-back in the same arena, so the rotation choices of Mark Daigneault and Micah Nori could matter as much as any scheme.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers team news and rotations

Oklahoma City remain without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and Thomas Sorber, which leaves Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carrying most of the creation load and makes Mitchell and McCain more important as secondary scorers.

Jaylin Williams is also listed out with a back problem, so Isaiah Hartenstein and rookie Aday Mara share the big-man minutes, with Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell and Kenrich Williams the other starters in game one.

Portland are without Ja Morant, Vit Krejci and Shaedon Sharpe, while Robert Williams III is doubtful for rest after playing in game one.

Sidy Cissoko replaced Scoot Henderson in the starting five in game one and scored 17 points, so Damian Lillard, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan are expected to line up alongside him again.

The matchups that could decide Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Key Matchups

The scoring engines

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OKC

VS

Deni Avdija POR

29.5 Gilgeous-Alexander PPG

22.5 Avdija PPG

33.8 Gilgeous-Alexander last 5 PPG

22.0 Avdija last 5 PPG

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 8-of-22 in game one, while Avdija produced 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists, so the star-versus-star duel set the tone.

The battle on the glass

Donovan Clingan POR

VS

Isaiah Hartenstein OKC

10.3 Clingan RPG

10.0 Hartenstein RPG

11.6 Clingan last 5 RPG

11.0 Hartenstein last 5 RPG

Clingan and Hartenstein are separated by less than one rebound a game, so the winner of the glass battle controls second-chance points when both teams have tired legs.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed all four of his three-point attempts in game one while Avdija and Lillard led a six-man double-figure scoring spread, so the first test is whether the Thunder star finds cleaner looks on the second night.

Inside, Clingan's screens higher up the floor created space for Lillard in game one, and how Hartenstein and Mara defend that action will shape whether Oklahoma City can slow Portland's rhythm.

Best player props for Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers

The prop picks lean on players whose roles are unlikely to change after game one, with Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring volume, Avdija's playmaking and Clingan's rebounding all backed by both season and last-five averages.

Player Props to Watch

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OKC

Points Over 28.5

29.5 Season avg

33.8 Last 5 avg

11 GP

He carries the creation load for a thin rotation, and one inefficient night in game one barely dents his recent scoring.

Deni Avdija POR

Assists Over 5.5

6.5 Season avg

7.4 Last 5 avg

10 GP

Portland run their half-court offence through his passing, and he produced six assists in game one.

Donovan Clingan POR

Rebounds Over 9.5

10.3 Season avg

11.6 Last 5 avg

10 GP

Clingan clears this mark in both his season and last-five averages, and no Blazer rebounds more.

Head-to-head record between Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers

Portland's win in game one was only their second in 21 meetings, after Oklahoma City had taken 19 of the previous 20.

The Thunder won three of the four meetings last season, with the Blazers' only victory coming at home after they recovered from a 22-point deficit.

Rosters have changed since then, so the more relevant detail is that Portland outscored Oklahoma City by 33 points from three-point range in game one, before the Thunder move on to the Clippers and Kings in a demanding stretch of the NBA schedule.

Our prediction for Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Portland's perimeter shooting is the swing factor, since a second straight night of that many threes is unlikely against a defence that holds opponents to 45.9% from the field, and Oklahoma City's edge in turnovers and rebounding gives them more routes to a win.

The Thunder have too much defensive structure to be beaten twice by the same plan, so Oklahoma City should edge a tight second night and take a series that is level at one win each, with the extra possessions from fewer turnovers deciding it.