A walk in the park for Portland turned into a nightmare, as Oklahoma Cty pulled off the upset in today's showdown. As usual after a surprise loss, the finger pointing came after the game in the Portland locker room. "Coach didn't really bother preparing us for this game. We'd already been watching films of our next opponent," said Smith.

Bob acknowledged that was true, but said "our next opponent is three times as good as Oklahoma Cty. Of course we dedicate more time to preparing for them. I'm not faulting Smith, but if the rest of the team had played as hard we'd have won this game easily. It was a lack of effort, not preparation."

Oklahoma Cty coach Bob could care less whose fault it was. "We're thrilled to get the win. They can make all the excuses they want, but we were the better team out there today."

Oklahoma Cty was led by Golden (34 points, 9 boards, 1 assists, 2 blocks), Joseph (26 points, 6 boards, 1 assists), Walston (14 points, 16 boards, 0 assists). Portland was led by Smith (22 points, 12 assists, a block), Mendez (20 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, a steal, a block), White (8 points, 8 boards, 1 assists, a steal, 2 blocks).

Oklahoma Cty improve to 34-37 and 21-14 at home. They remain at #4 in the Northwest and hold at #8 overall in the Western Conference. With today's loss, Portland stand at 49-21. They hold at #1 in the Northwest and remain at #2 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Oklahoma Cty roster Portland roster