Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu was trying to lock up Russell Westbrook out top, but as the Thunder point guard drove left he stopped on a dime. Pulling the ball back, Westbrook re-settled himself behind the three-point line, leaving Aminu not just in his dust, but back at the free throw line, facing the wrong direction.

Westbrook drained the three-pointer, much to the glee of the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd, and put the Thunder up by seven with just 1:18 to go, a big enough cushion to put this 105-99 victory over the Blazers to rest just in time for the Super Bowl.

“I hadn’t made a three all night, but that was a big one to close the game out and get the shot I wanted,” Westbrook shrugged. “I just go out and compete and try to close the game the right way and make sure we win the game.”

The Thunder couldn’t get hardly anything to fall all night long, and shot just 40.8 percent from the field and 4-for-18 from three-point range, but in the fourth quarter Head Coach Billy Donovan’s team shot 11-for-18 from the floor (61.1 percent) including 3-for-5 from behind the arc. The offensive explosion had something to do with Westbrook’s 19 points in the period, part of a 42-point, eight-assist, four-rebound exhibition of skill, intelligence and stamina. The All-Star point guard got himself going by focusing on one of his go-to spots, knocking down a pair of back-to-back bank shots from the left block.

Thunder goes on 9-0 run. Westbrook has 32p. 9 in Q4. #TheForce. pic.twitter.com/gNELbIymvc — OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 5, 2017

“That’s a good shot that I use all the time. It’s something that my dad and I called the cotton shot when I was younger,” Westbrook recalled. “It’s definitely something I’ve been doing for a long time.”

“When he gets into mid-range space and can create that space, he’s a terrific shooter,” Donovan further explained. “He did a really good job making his decisions of how to get his man off balance and then creating space to make those shots. He had room up there, which was great.”

It also, however, had to do with the brilliance of Victor Oladipo, who scored 10 of his 24 total points in the final frame, knocking down a huge three-pointer, hitting another long jumper and finding Joffrey Lauvergne for three during a crucial 12-4 Thunder burst to start quarter. On the night Oladipo reeled in 13 rebounds, dished out three assists and also came up with two steals and two blocks, a sign that he was all over the floor.

“(Oladipo) came out aggressive. He was really locked in and focused,” Donovan said. “To start the fourth quarter, he really played extremely well. He made some shots, but I thought his focus, you can always see that drive and focus and concentration, it stands out.”

V. Oladipo's #SunsetSunday

13 defensive boards

2 steals

2 blocks

24 points pic.twitter.com/OXQlQMHMwC — OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 5, 2017

Another Thunder wing who had a fantastic night was Andre Roberson, who recorded his second-career double-double with a 14-point, 11-rebound performance. Instead of camping out in the corner, Roberson was active all night on offense, cutting back door, attacking the basket off the dribble and even flushing home a monstrous dunk in the half-court. But his biggest impact came on defense, where he held hold Portland’s Damian Lillard to just 9-of-22 shooting. The Blazers guard put up points, sure, but recorded just three assists and was relatively inefficient due to Roberson’s length and IQ.

“When you deny that pass or mess up the timing of the play, it disrupts everything else,” Roberson explained. “I just try to make it easier for my teammates in any way I can and make it tough on my opponent.”

“(Roberson) did a great job of rebounding tonight,” Westbrook noted. “When he’s active on the boards and doing things like that it makes us a different team.”

Andre Roberson with the US Cellular highlight. A video posted by Oklahoma City Thunder (@okcthunder) on Feb 5, 2017 at 1:41pm PST

Despite shooting just 31 percent in the first and missing chippies around the rim, the tone was set defensively and on the glass by the Thunder from the very outset. Steven Adams hauled in four of five Thunder offensive rebounds on the very first possession of the game, helping to ensure his team would dominate the interior all night.

“It’s a huge tone that we’re coming to play, regardless of miss or make,” Westbrook said. “It shows that we’re fighting and we’re the team that wants to hit first regardless of how many misses. We played hard all game, especially on the defensive end.”

The Thunder out-rebounded Portland by 12, scored 12 more points in the paint and attempted 11 more field goals in the run of play due to its rebounding prowess. Defensively, the Thunder held Portland to just 40.2 percent shooting all night, and it started early by allowing Portland just 16 first quarter points.

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By the Numbers

3-for-4 – Shooting numbers for Victor Oladipo in the fourth quarter, when he scored 10 of his 24 points to go with 13 total rebounds and three assists

8 - Number of 40-plus point games for Russell Westbrook this season after his 42-point, four-rebound, eight-assist performance

11 - Rebounds for Andre Roberson on the night, in addition to 14 points, part of his second-career double-double

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The Last Word

“The most encouraging part to me is that we played better offensively in the second half and Russell was spectacular, but our defense and our consistency and persistence, even though in that first half we had every chance to get discouraged or disappointed or bleed into our defense, it never did.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan

Nice team win. Bud Light Photo of the Game. A photo posted by Oklahoma City Thunder (@okcthunder) on Feb 5, 2017 at 2:36pm PST