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Thunder resume road trip in Portland

Apr 1, 2011 - 3:06 PM (Sports Network) - The Oklahoma City Thunder are closing in on a Northwest Division title and will resume a four-game road trip this evening against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.

Oklahoma City has a virtually insurmountable five-game lead over Denver for the division lead with eight games remaining and sits fourth in the Western Conference standings, 2 1/2 games behind Dallas for the third spot.

The Thunder won their fifth straight game and closed out the month of March with a 14-2 mark after dispatching the fading Phoenix Suns, 116-98, on Wednesday in the desert. Kevin Durant scored 22 points and Russell Westbrook ended with 16 and eight assists for Oklahoma City, which posted its second straight 50-win season and is nearing its first division title since 2004-05, when the franchise was located in Seattle.

Serge Ibaka posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while James Harden pumped in 22 in a reserve role. Harden is averaging 16.6 points per game since the All-Star break.

"I thought we did a good job of just controlling our pace, not taking quick shots and taking good shots," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "Defensively we were active throughout the game. We knew Phoenix is a tough team to stop every possession so every possession had to be good effort."

Oklahoma City will also visit the Clippers and Nuggets on the current road swing and is 22-14 away from home this season. It has won five straight as the guest and is averaging 105.0 ppg over the past 12 games.

The Thunder are 8-1 since Kendrick Perkins made his debut on March 14 at Washington. Perkins was acquired from Boston before the trade deadline.

Portland is currently even with New Orleans for the sixth seed in the West and one game ahead of No. 8 Memphis. It will begin a three-game homestand Friday versus Oklahoma City, Dallas and Golden State, and has won six in a row in Rip City. Portland is also 26-10 as the host.

The Blazers have split their past six games and suffered a 95-91 setback in New Orleans on Wednesday, as LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort. Andre Miller added 19 points and Gerald Wallace scored 14 with 10 rebounds for Portland.

"We dropped it. We dropped this game and now we need to go home," said Blazers head coach Nate McMillan. "We know what we need to do. Every game is important; we don't have the tiebreaker against this team, but we do against some other teams."

Aldridge is posting 24.2 points and 9.0 boards since mid-December (50 games).

Portland is trying to avoid its first series sweep against the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise since the 1997-98 campaign (0-4). These two clubs have split the past 12 meetings in the Rose City.