The Portland Trail Blazers host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Here’s how to watch this game online via live streaming.
The Portland Trail Blazers rested several key players in their final game of the season in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid the Utah Jazz and land this matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Game 1, we’ll get an idea of just how wise that strategy was.
Portland lost all four of their regular season games against the Thunder, by an average of seven points per game. The challenge may be even greater with Jusuf Nurkic set to miss the entire playoffs after suffering a broken leg, and CJ McCollum still working to get himself healthy and back on the court. If ever there was a stage set for a heroic, legacy-defining playoff performance by Damian Lillard, this would appear to be it.
The Thunder fell to No. 8 in the West with a late-season swoon but less than a point per 100 possessions separated their season-long point differential from the Blazers. Oklahoma City is lead by a crushing defense and the dual offensive engines of Russell Westbrook and Paul George. The former averaged a triple-double for an insane third season in a row, while the latter has stepped out of Westbrook’s shadow to make himself into a fringe MVP candidate. Whatever happens, this series certainly won’t be lacking star power.
Below is everything you’ll need to watch Game 1.
Date: Sunday, Apr. 14
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Portland, OR
Venue: Moda Center
TV Info: ABC
Live Stream: Qualified subscribers can watch on ABC Live or the Watch ESPN app.
Despite homecourt advantage in Portland’s favor, win probability models at Nylon Calculus actually make Oklahoma City the favorite, with a 59 percent chance of winning the series and Thunder-in-6 as the most likely outcome.