Three Takeaways from OKC's Sunday Night Win Over Portland

Oklahoma City claimed a road victory on Sunday evening, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and capturing its 38th win on the season.

This contest marked the third meeting between the Trail Blazers and the Thunder, as Oklahoma City has leveraged a 3-0 record throughout the teams' four-game season series.

A 35-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander despite the team not shooting well from 3-point range on the night, Oklahoma City turned Portland over 15 times to help curb that and come out on top in the end.

Let's take a look at three takeaways from Sunday night's game:

Joe Returns to His Roll

Isaiah Joe was a heightened threat on the floor on Sunday night versus Portland.

Following a 24-point scoring flurry from him with eight threes to give him all his points against Brooklyn last Sunday, Joe missed two games due to illness before suiting up against Portland.

He would go on to shoot a 42.9% clip from deep to post 16 points, also shooting well from the floor making six of his 11 shots. Joe would ultimately lead the bench in scoring in his 25 minutes of play, creating a great impact with a plus-17 plus-minus.

OKC: A Turnover Generator

Oklahoma City may as well be considered a team that is strictly centered around generating turnovers at this point. Like the team is solely hunting turnovers, and that could be true as it has won the turnover battle again versus Portland.

Generating 15 turnovers to pad 21 more points as a result, Oklahoma City remains the best team in the league in steals while sustaining a top-three spot in amount of turnovers committed. That ratio is doing a lot for the team, and it was evident again on Sunday night.

Thunder Lights Up the Paint

The Thunder lit up the paint on Sunday night, posting 52 points in that area compared to Portland's 22.

Taking a backseat to the 3-point shot, Oklahoma City shot just 30 times from beyond the arc and relied on its ability to clash in the paint. Isaiah Hartenstein, of course, was a big help with that, as he ended with 14 points and 12 boards on the night. Gilgeous-Alexander had his fair share of buckets down there, too, among others.

With its 38th win under its belt to lead the entire NBA, the Thunder now look ahead to take on the Golden State Warriors in a national spotlight at 9 p.m. on Wednesday inside Chase Center.