The Portland Trail Blazers are now up 3-1 after putting away the Oklahoma City Thunder down the stretch, 111-98, in Game 4 of their 2019 first round NBA Playoff series. Before tipoff, at halftime and after the game, the Inside the NBA crew on TNT weighed in on the Blazers’ dominance, Russell Westbrook and Paul George’s struggles and everything else about the series in their Sunday evening broadcast.

You can watch the full halftime and postgame comments in the provided videos, or get the key takeaways below from the NBA on TNT crew consisting of Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, who had quite a bit to say about the Trail Blazers.

Before the game the guys talked about how the Thunder can get back in the series, the physical nature of this series and how Paul George has put up stats, but not been impactful for his team so far in the postseason:

Ernie Johnson: “So, now what do we look for in OKC? We have the star power going on in this one. You have the friction between Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook. What swings the balance tonight?”

Shaquille O’Neal: Well, OKC has to do everything right. They have to play well. They have to play smart and they definitely have to win this game. The pressure is all on [the Thunder] tonight. I know Russ and Dame are going to be going back-and-forth and [Westbrook] is averaging around 10 assists. He’s gonna need about 15 tonight to get everybody going first and every now and then if you want to go at [Lillard], that’s part of the game and that’s what people want to see, but you have to do everything right and take care of the ball at home."

Ernie Johnson: “There’s been a physical aspect to this series as well. Shaq, even Enes Kanter said he woke up after Game 3 and was sore from this series.”

Shaq: “Well that’s how you’re supposed to feel. Advance, advance, maybe get some fouls, maybe win the championship, but this is how you have to play. You have to play all out. Phil Jackson and the great Tex Winter used to say, ‘if you’re not sore after when you in the shower after the game, you didn’t play hard enough.’”

Kenny Smith: “... [Paul George] has not been playing up to the level he’s normally been playing up to. That, to me, will be the difference. Yes, 25 points per game, but 37% from the field, 27% from three is not a Paul George... you’re just getting numbers, you’re not getting numbers that are impactful. And he usually makes impactful plays and gets impactful numbers and I think between Lillard and McCollum, they have been impactful [for the Blazers]. And Kanter! He has to be impactful today. This is a swing game. This swings the series, this game.”

Charles Barkley: "Going back to a point I made earlier about guys on the bench. They’re going to play better at home, those guys here in Oklahoma City. I’m not worried about Dame or CJ or Kanter from one side for Portland, I’m worried about those other guys. As far as OKC, Russ and Paul and Steven Adams, they’re gonna do something. Now the key is going to be those other guys. I think this game is going to come down to the last quarter. But listen... this Russ rocking his baby thing... You know Dame has been steaming for 48 hours thinking about that.

Shaq: I like OKC in this game because if you look at the history of these Portland guards, they haven’t played well together a lot. It’s up and down. So far both of them have been playing pretty good.

Kenny Smith: “Oh they rolling right now. They rolling, brother. This is different. They’re going to the Western Conference Finals!”

Ernie Johnson: “I know you have Portland going to the Finals, but do you have them in this Game 4?”

Charles Barkley: “I like them in Game 4 tonight. Dame Lillard coming through tonight. They gonna be rocking the baby the other way tonight. Guar-an-tee! Guar-an-tee!”

At halftime, with the Blazers up four after an 11-0 run to close the first half, the guys talked about what makes Portland the better team in this series, why Damian Lillard’s 7-point first half wasn’t as bad as it looked and how Portland might have the best bench unit in the playoffs:

Ernie Johnson: “What are you seeing from the Portland offense, Jet?”

Kenny Smith: “This is why Charles and I think this is a better basketball team and that can get to the NBA Finals and has that ability. If they had Nurkic. Because we always know when you have CJ McCollum on a team you have another guy, with Dame Lillard resting, that can occupy space and create on his own. The difference is now that when he does have the basketball, and it gets back to Dame Lillard, he has four other guys... A roller in Kanter, and a Curry, you’re never leaving a Curry open, ever. You’ve got Harkless here and CJ over here, so now you have more opportunities and more people on the floor that can knock shots down and make [Lillard] a more effective player even though he’s not shooting the ball well. Again, just give me guys who not only occupy space, but also are great players. Kanter isn’t going to just stand there. This is why we like him. He has a nose for the basketball and a nose to score. This is why we feel the Portland Trail Blazers are the clear and present danger for the Golden State Warriors.”

Shaq: “We’ve had many debates on this show, and it’s one of my favorite debates, about who is the top backcourt [in the NBA]. So we always say it’s Steph and Klay, or Wall and Beal and these guys from Portland have always been third. The reason why they’ve been third in the past is because these guys could never play good together for long periods of time. But if these guys can play like and Steph and a Klay for both halves, not just the second half, then they will possibly go far [in the playoffs]. Damian Lillard has to pick it up, he has 7 points, I’m gonna need both guards to pick it up ”

Charles Barkley: “I would have loved to see this team with the big fella (Jusuf Nurkic) because, shout out to the General Manager of Portland - Neil Olshey - going out and getting Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter. They’ve got the best bench in the NBA. In the second quarter they had five bench guys out there. They took their two All-Stars out the game and played their whole bench for like a five to seven minute stretch. But let me say this about Dame Lillard... that to me was one of his better halfs of basketball. Even though he is only 2 for 8, when they we’re down six or eight points, he didn’t panic. He finally made a shot. You know, a lot of times you can tell... [Lillard] is not trying to compete with Russell, Russell is trying to compete with him. And with Dame, I’m really impressed. He’s like, ‘okay, I missed some shots. We’re down. I’m not gonna try and force it. I’m not going to try and rush it.' He made some great passes and this team here, I’m telling you, they’re going to the finals.”

After the game with Portland winning n convincing fashion, the TNT crew wondered if the Thunder are in trouble now being down 3-1 and staring at a Game 5 in Portland where the Blazers made quick work of Oklahoma City in Games 1 and 2:

Shaq: “Russell Westbrook had it going every now and then, but that’s not good enough to win a playoff game.”

Ernie Johnson: “This guy had a game, that’s Al-Farouq Aminu. He had 19 on the night..... The Chief has arrived!”

Charles Barkley: “If Lillard and McCollum trust those other guys a little bit more, man... this team gonna be tough to beat.... I told ya, Lillard played well tonight. Not great, but well.”

Ernie Johnson: “Lillard score 15 in the third quarter and went 3 for 3 from deep.”

Charles Barkley: “McCollum was fantastic.”

Shaq: “I’ll tell ya, Chuck, when [Lillard and McCollum] play like this, they’re tough.”

Charles Barkley: “Yea, but sometimes they start trying to do too much themselves.”

Ernie Johnson: “McCollum had 27... and it’s the Portland Trail Blazers ending their eight-game road losing streak during the postseason.”

Charles Barkley: “I was very impressed. I told ya, last game I was impressed because a lot of teams, when they are up 2-0, they relax because they still have the home court. They played a good game Friday, but tonight they came out and got punched in the mouth early, and even though they got punched in the mouth early, they were up at the half and they got the big lead. Man, they are going to be tough to beat. Coach Stotts does a fantastic job. Like... most coaches won’t play five reserves at the same time. And Enes Kanter and Al-Farouq Aminu, Harkless, Hood, Meyers Leonard, Zach Collins. Man, they do a fantastic job. And Seth... remember you said at halftime, ‘you can’t leave a Curry open?’ What about Dell? He’s done.”

After hearing Terry Stotts field a question from Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune ...

Charles Barkley: “Man, Kerry Eggers is still there? He must be 105 years old! Jeeze, Kerry!”

Ernie Johnson: So, Oklahoma City has lost 11 in a row in the postseason. Is this a wrap [for the Thunder in the postseason]?

Shaq: “I would say it’s a wrap. I don’t like the way they play. You would think Paul George and Westbrook would know better ... they playing hero ball, taking crazy shots and trying to shoot the three. They been doing it all year. Every time they get down, they’re trying to come back with the fancy moves. It’s helped them sometimes but in a playoff situation, it’s not going to help you.”

Kenny Smith: “I think the one thing for me is watching the matchups and when you look at the depth of guys who can make plays now for Portland, and they don’t have to rely solely on those two guards... Now, those two guards were fantastic and they have been at times, but they don’t have to be that anymore. You saw in the first half Lillard not being fantastic and they were up 5 [at halftime]. That would never happen last year or the year before. The best time that I’ve had where I’ve played with great players is when they get upset that they have the ball too much. And I think that’s what’s happening with Portland. They have Curry, they have Harkless now. They have Kanter and Nurkic before he got hurt. You have guys who say I know [Lillard and McCollum] can get it done, but I can get it done, too, for short stints. So I’m not going to just rely on you and sit back. And I think when you watch Oklahoma City, you have two guys doing that, but you have no one else on that team doing that.”

Charles Barkley: "I interviewed coach [Gregg] Popovich, I think, three years ago and I asked him, ‘when did Kawhi become a great player?’ He says, “oh, when he learned that when I call a play for him, it’s for the Spurs to score, not him.’ And that’s the best thing I ever heard a coach say. And a lot of guys, I think Lillard and McCollum have been guilty of this in the past, and I think Russ and Paul are guilty of that now.”

- Tim Brown, The Oregonian/OregonLive | @timfsbrown