Deni Avdija exploded for 28 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-108. The victory was Portland's consecutive win in consecutive nights against the Thunder.

Jrue Holiday and Sidy Cissoko scored 19 points apiece. Damian Lillard added 18 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Toumani Camara added 14 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with a game-high 31 points, shooting 9-for-20 from the field, 0-for-7 from the arc and 13-for-14 from the free throw line.

Portland finished 45.7 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from three and 96.2 percent from the charity stripe. The Thunder were held to 42 percent shooting overall and a lousy 30.6 percent clip from the arc.

A battle between two of the Western Conference's best teams delivered plenty of thrills and moments worth chewing on. Here are three of them.

Second-quarter surge

Portland continues to prove itself as one of the best offenses in the second quarter. The Blazers have been great in the period all season, sitting second in the NBA in second-quarter offensive rating (130.1) behind the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder, meanwhile, have the second-best defensive rating (94.2) in the period.

But it didn't matter. Portland shot 50 percent from the field (10-for-20) and 40 percent (4-for-10) from 3-point range, sinking 4-of-5 free throws. And while the Blazers were scorching, the Thunder failed to transfer the success they achieved in the first period.

Shooting 50 percent in the first quarter — 40 percent from three — Oklahoma City's efficiency plummeted the remainder of the half. The Thunder shot an ugly 24 percent overall and 18.2 percent from three, with Gilgeous-Alexander, in particular, held to four points on 1-for-7 shooting.

Branden Carlson minutes

Averaging just under eight minutes per game this season, and appearing in just five of the 10 previous contests, Branden Carlson saw 10 minutes of action against the Thunder.

He scored zero points and grabbed just one rebound, but finished +3 on the night. Carlson logged minutes in the first, second and fourth quarters — he was +5 in the first quarter, +3 in the second quarter and -5 in the fourth quarter.

Carlson shared his floor time with either Williams or Clingan, his integration serving as an attempt at a double-big lineup. The results were clearly mixed.

Dame time

Another game against the Thunder, another night of Dame time. In the first matchup Lillard's outburst occurred in the third quarter. This time, the NBA Top-75 player electrified in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, receiving "MVP" chants during a trip at the free throw line with one minute left.

Lillard scored nine points in the frame and went +12. He shot 3 for 6 overall and hit one frenetic 3-pointer that sent Moda Center into hysterics.