Russell Westbrook sets a new career high in scoring, finishes with 58, but Thunder falls to Blazers. pic.twitter.com/uRo3SCYKXF — OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2017

The Thunder suffered their fourth straight loss in a row 126-121 to the Portland Trail Blazers tonight. The Thunder held a lead throughout a good part of this game. However, much like when these two teams played last week, Portland finished the game on top.

Oklahoma City got off to a hot start and finished the first quarter with 40 points. A majority of the scoring tonight was recorded by Russell Westbrook. The team struggled to find scoring without him in the game. The Thunder didn’t score until Russ checked back into the game with eight minutes to go in the second quarter.

The Thunder limped into the second half with a six point lead, which quickly disappeared. Oklahoma City allowed Portland to get way too many offensive rebounds that led to second chance points. After getting outscored by thirteen points in the third quarter, there wasn’t a lot of good going in favor of the Thunder. Oklahoma City managed to make a little comeback at the end, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

Russell Westbrook Sets Career High

🔥 🔥 Russell Westbrook 40 points and we're only halfway through Q3. #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/en0HND0JOY — OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2017

Despite a tough loss, Russell Westbrook had himself a night. He set a new career high in scoring with 58 points on 21-39 shooting, and also recorded 9 assists and 3 rebounds. Russ was able to score from just about anywhere on the floor. He rallied the Thunder back into the game at the end, but he was not very happy with the loss. Check out what he had to say about the game here:

Russell Westbrook after his career scoring night, but in a loss: pic.twitter.com/fdhWP2hpCH — Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 8, 2017

Inconsistency on Defense

Oklahoma City has certainly struggled on the defensive side of the ball in recent games. Tonight was not much different, but the team did have its moments. The Thunder played excellent defense in the first quarter and throughout parts of the second. However, the defense seemed to disappear for the remainder of the game. The Thunder cannot afford to take breaks on the defensive side of the ball. The return of Victor Oladipo certainly helped the defensive efforts, but it did not help the consistency. The team will need to play defense for all four quarters on Thursday to beat the Spurs.

Home Again Against The Spurs

The Thunder will be at home again on Thursday night as they take on the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs currently hold the number two spot in the Western Conference, and will be no easy win for this struggling Thunder team. The team is in desperate need of a win, and will have to dig deep to come out on top. The game will start at 7:00 PM CST and will be televised on TNT. It will also be broadcast on the radio at WWLS 98.1 FM.

Article written by Craig Hofeld. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter and Instagram.