The Oklahoma City Thunder stay on the West Coast following a nail biter in Los Angeles a couple of days ago. OKC holds a 26-11 record and they will face the 15-24 Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. 

This could be a very good game for Oklahoma City. One of those games that they should win but won't end in a blowout. This will be a test for OKC, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Portland might have the best scoring backcourt in the league with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, giving the Thunder defenders a difficult challenge.

How To Win This Game

Oklahoma City is going to have to contain Portland's dangerous duo, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who average about 45 points per game combined. Lower that to 35 points combined and notice a huge difference in the games outcome.

This will be one of those games where the Thunder bigs are going to have to show up. These are two of the best rebounding teams in the entire NBA. Oklahoma City ranks third (47.5) while Portland is just behind them in fifth (45.8). It will be up to the likes of Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka to get on the glass for the Thunder and win the rebounding margin. 

Serge Ibaka has to realize this game is a game for him to be more physical and to stay off the perimeter like he has been accustom to doing over the last couple years.

Portland thrives off second chance points, so it's Oklahoma City's job to regulate that part of the game. Both teams have the ability to get up and down the floor. Being the road team, Oklahoma City needs to control the pace and limit the energy from the Portland crowd.

Last Meeting

The Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers 106-90 in what was a dominate defensive performance. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 24 points. Portland's backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum combined for 44 points, but as a team the Trail Blazers shot a woeful 35 percent from the field. The only thing that kept them in the ballgame was their shooting from behind the arc. Portland finished the game knocking down 11 three-pointers, eight of which came from Lillard and McCollum

Russell Westbrook struggled with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting, but Dion Waiters came off the bench with 18 points. The big man combo of Adams and Kanter both compiled double-doubles, combing to total for 23 points and 25 rebounds.

Prediction

Look for Kevin Durant to have one of his elite-caliber games, considering Portland doesn't have anyone that has proven to be a reliable defender. Look for this to be a pretty high scoring game because both squads average 100-plus points per game. Because the Thunder hold their opponents on average to 43 percent shooting, expect them to get the necessary stops in crunch time.

Thunder 110, Trail Blazers 103