On Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a close game to the Portland Trail Blazers, losing 126-121. As has been the case all season, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook dominated the box score, scoring a career-high 58 points and dishing nine assists, but the Blazers' balanced scoring attack overcame Westbrook's efforts to deliver the victory. Portland is one-and-a-half games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference (and seven games behind seventh-place Oklahoma City), so the win was a good one for the Blazers.
That's fine. But for the casual fan — or the college sports elitist just waiting for Sunday — what you need to know about the game is that this happened:
Taj Gibson arrived in Oklahoma as part of a deadline-day trade with the Chicago Bulls. CBS Sports graded the trade as an A+ for the Thunder, in part because Gibson is a "tough-as-nails power forward" who "can hit the mid-range jumper." He can also, apparently, hit the three-quarter-length, sky-high, quarterback-style, standstill three-pointer.
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