PORTLAND -- After Game Three devolved into a contentious affair, one which the Trail Blazers would lose 120-108, the players in Portland's locker room vowed not to let the trash talk, both verbal and non-verbal, divert their focus from winning the series. And in Game Four, they honored that vow, using a business-like approach in the face of a motivated Thunder team spurred on by a rowdy arena to come away with a 111-98 victory in Oklahoma City to tilt the series decidedly in their favor.
But while the Blazers made a conscious decision not to engage in the back-and-forth, they made mental notes of what was said.