Thunder Wins Home Opener Over Portland

The Thunder returned home to OKC Friday night, opening up its home slate by beating the Portland Trailblazers 106-92.

Led by its young core, Portland hung around for a long time before Oklahoma City pulled away in the fourth quarter.

The Thunder was led by Russell Westbrook's 32 points, responding in a strong way from his rough night Thursday. Kevin Durant also added 23 and 17 rebounds, while Nick Collison chipped in 12.

Newcomer Kevin Martin also stepped up, pouring in 19 points on 11 shots with zero turnovers. Martin shot 3-3 from deep and 6-6 from the line.

Rookies Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb both made their Thunder debut, Jones scoring two points in five minutes and Lamb hitting his only shot attempt, a deep three from the top of the key.

Serge Ibaka struggled for the second consecutive night, scoring seven points on 3-11 shooting with five rebounds and two blocks.

Portland was led by LaMarcus Aldridge's 22 points and 15 boards. Rookie Damian Lillard looked strong, scoring 21 points with seven assists and just two turnovers.

Nicolas Batum struggled mightily for the Blazers, scoring just 3 points on 1-11 shooting.

OKC returns to action Sunday evening at 6 p.m. against the Hawks.