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After being swept in the First Round of last year’s NBA playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers (53-29; 2-0) are two wins away from advancing to the Second Round. The Oklahoma City Thunder (49-33; 0-2) will try an find an answer for the Trail Blazers when the series shifts back to the heartland for Game 3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of ESPN on your computer, phone, or streaming device via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
PS Vue — which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch — offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include ESPN.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
ESPN is included in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
Blazers vs Thunder Game 3 Preview
Oklahoma City led for stretches in Game 1, ultimately falling 104-99 to Portland. The Trail Blazers more securely controlled Game 2 following halftime, outscoring the Thunder 37-21 in the third quarter to pull away for a 114-94 victory at home.
Through two games, Damian Lillard has been, by far, the best player in the series for either team. Lillard has taken Russell Westbrook to school in Game 1 and Game 2, finishing with nearly identical 30- and 29-point performances, while shadowing him on the court. Westbrook, noticeably, has been worse and not found his game, yet; after a Game 1 triple-double (24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), Westbrook recorded just 14 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds on 5-of-20 shooting in Game 2.
Paul George, however, has played very well. George made 11 of 20 field-goal attempts in Game 2, finishing with a team-high 27 points while adding eight rebounds. George, though, needs help from a Thunder bench that has been nearly non-existent regarding their impact on the game.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan knows adjustments need to be made in order to put his team in a position to even the series in Oklahoma City following the Game 2 loss. On the flipside, Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, following last season’s inexplicable four-game exit, told reporters that he is content with the performance in the first two games, specifically their defensive effort on Westbrook.
“He probably missed some shots at the rim that he could make, and there were times when we forced some misses,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “Our guys did a nice job of at least making some of his shots difficult.”
Stotts added:
“He’s really competitive. As a group, we’re all trying to play defense, but ‘Dame’ is really focused at both ends of the floor. He knows how important it is.”
Lost in the shuffle of the lillard-Westbrook head-to-head- matchup is the play of CJ McCollum. McCollum was sensational in Game 2, with a team-high 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting, while adding eight rebounds. Enes Kanter continues to be a pleasant surprise replacing starter Jusuf Nurkić; Kanter was a +12 in 20 minutes and has not been a liability on the defensive end through the first two games.