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Friday Bolts: 11.29.19

Friday Bolts: 11.29.19

Portland’s blowout win over Oklahoma City was led by a vintage version of Carmelo Anthony, writes Joe Mussatto.  “Back from a one-year NBA exile, Anthony flashed all of the offensive tools that will land him in the hall of fame some day. Playing in front of the Portland crowd for the first time since signing with the Trail Blazers, Anthony scored 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting.”

If you didn’t notice, amid all the hoopla surrounding Melo’s performance, Abdel Nader scored a career-high 23 points in just 17 minutes:

The Thunder allowed a season-high 136 points to the Blazers.  Erik Horne (The Athletic) dives into the defensive breakdowns.  “Maybe it was because Anthony was awesome, blowing past Ferguson on the baseline for a dunk. Maybe it was because Ferguson was giving up a minimum of 40 pounds as well as years of experience and strength to Anthony.  Nope. It was because the Thunder’s defense was completely lost from the opening tip, never establishing a modicum of communication en route to giving up a season high in points to a struggling Blazers squad.

If you’ve been watching any of the Oklahoma City Blue and noticed a light patch of hair on Justin Patton’s head, well, blame Dennis Schroder for that.  Schroder on the patch:  “My barber, he was in San Francisco. He [Patton] wanted to do the blonde patch and I told him, ‘do something else’ you know? And I convinced him to do it in the back. I kind of like it.”

Including the beatdown courtesy of the Blazers, here are the latest total points added (TPA) stats for the Thunder:

If you’re out and about shopping for Black Friday, be safe, and stop by the Thunder Shop inside Chesapeake Energy Arena for exclusive “Blue Friday” deals.  If you cop any swag, post the drip in the comments below.  (Nailed it, tbh.)