Portland topped Oklahoma City 123-103 on Tuesday at home, then coach Micah Nori explained a lineup change that moved Scoot Henderson back to the bench and inserted Sidy Cissoko.
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Portland’s Trail Blazers rebounded from consecutive losses with a 123-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at home on Tuesday night.
The score was tied at halftime, but Portland took control in the third quarter, outscoring Oklahoma City by 17 points.
Damian Lillard led the Blazers’ attack with 25 points, including 13 in the third quarter, and he hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the period.
The win followed Portland’s season start of 6-1, before the team lost back-to-back games to the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
Coach Micah Nori made a notable rotation adjustment for the Thunder game after earlier changes stemming from Ja Morant’s injury.
Morant suffered a hamstring injury four games into the season, and Nori started Scoot Henderson in Morant’s place for the next five games.
For Tuesday’s game, Nori moved Henderson back to the bench and inserted Sidy Cissoko, a 6-foot-6 forward from France, into the starting lineup.
When asked about the move after Tuesday’s game, Nori said his reasoning was to get Henderson with the second unit again, while keeping the first group’s ball-handling centered around Deni Avdija and Lillard.
Nori added that the change also allowed Lillard to play longer stretches in a way he described as more typical for his routine, rather than three separate stints in a half.
He said Cissoko started the first five minutes, which helped integrate Jrue Holiday into the rotation, and that Cissoko ultimately played 33 minutes.
Lillard responded to the adjustment by saying he felt “super fresh” during the game and suggested the change helped him get longer stretches to set up play the way he prefers.
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