Player grades: Thunder fall apart in crunch time in 118-108 loss to Trail Blazers

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Trying to feed a dribble hand-off to Jared McCain, Deni Avdjia bulldozed his way to a steal. The former NBA All-Star had a wide-open path to the other side as he threw down the vicious dunk. That capped off another frustrating clutch-time outing for OKC as it fell down by double-digit points with 36 seconds to go.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were out-dueled in clutch time with a 116-106 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. They leave their two-night stay at Moda Center humbled by what their ceiling is with this patched-together group.

Hoping for a Portland split, the Thunder went all in with their starting lineup. No messing around by staggering Alex Caruso. He received the ultra-rare starting nod. They played with much better energy from the jump. Understanding how dire their health was, Isaiah Hartenstein stepped up as a primary scorer. He Eurostepped his way to a layup.

The Thunder had a 32-28 lead after the first quarter. As soon as it looked like they had control of the game's flow, the Trail Blazers raced back. They had a 24-8 run in the second quarter. Mostly fueled by outside jumpers. Everybody in Portland had a turn to hit a momentum-shifting 3-pointer. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander couldn't get to the rim. Instead, he settled for highly-contested jumpers.

That completely torpedoed OKC's offense. They only had 18 points in the second frame. They entered halftime in a 56-50 deficit to the Trail Blazers. Quite the emotional gut-punch if you're the Thunder. You went all out with your available supporting cast and it simply isn't enough. Under normal circumstances, Gilgeous-Alexander can afford an off-half. But not under these. That gets put under the microscope.

Coming out of the break, the Thunder rediscovered some of their scoring magic. Specifically, Gilgeous-Alexander returned to playing like a walking 30-point bucket. He nailed a couple of elbow jumpers. He also finally drove to the basket. What a surprise — he finally went to the free-throw line with that scoring style.

The Thunder put up 35 points in the third frame. That's the good news. The bad news? The Trail Blazers kept up. Guys like Jrue Holiday, Sidy Cissoko and Toumani Camara hit timely outside jumpers. Anytime it felt like OKC was about to get some breathing room on the scoreboard, Portland answered on the other end. The defense has been sturdier since the Post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era started, but it's had its lapses — like these two nights in Portland.

The Thunder were in an 88-85 deficit through three quarters. That was definitely an upgrade to what happened 24 hours ago at the same juncture of the game. Magically enough, OKC's C squad had a strong start to the final frame. Nique Clifford tied things up at 88 points apiece with an outside jumper. Kenrich Williams put them ahead on the next possession.

Knotted up at 99 points apiece with five minutes to go, the Thunder and Trail Blazers endured high-leverage hoops. It was going to come down to whose respective franchise stars stepped up. As Portland went on a 9-1 run over the next three minutes, that turned out to be Avdija and Damian Lillard. They either barreled to the cup or hit outside jumpers.

Meanwhile, the Thunder had their offense stuck in the mud. Zero rhythm was there. You could sense the panic as Caruso and McCain manned the ball-handling possessions. Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander faded into the background. For whatever reason — whether his fault or OKC's — the two-time MVP was seldom featured in their crunch-time offense.

You see why the Thunder lost this one? They only had 23 points in the final frame. Frustrating. Just frustrating. That's the word of the day. They had a chance to get a signature road win — completely depleted. Instead, the offense had a meltdown and they allowed the Trail Blazers to get this nasty, nasty game.

The Thunder shot 42% from the field and went 11-of-36 (30.6%) from 3. They shot 23-of-28 on free throws. They had 19 assists on 37 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points and four rebounds. Hartenstein had a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double. Caruso stepped up with 14 points and seven rebounds. McCain had 10 points, but on 14 shot attempts. Aday Mara had 11 points and six rebounds. Williams finished with 11 points.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers shot 46% from the field and went 19-of-49 (38.8%) from 3. They shot 25-of-26 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 37 baskets. Six Trail Blazers scored double-digit points.

Avdija led the way with 28 points and six assists. Lillard chipped in with 18 points and three assists. Holiday had 19 points and five assists. Cissoko had 19 points and two rebounds. Camara finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Robert Williams III also had 10 points and seven rebounds.

As I said earlier, these were two very humbling nights in Portland. You hoped for a split at worst. And could've talked yourself into getting both. But the Thunder are still learning their new NBA reality. As much as you want to blame this on their lengthy injury report, that doesn't really pass the eye test. I think Gilgeous-Alexander has to clean up some of his shot diet. Figure out a way to have the ball in your hands in the clutch, too.

Unfortunate that those learning lessons couldn't be applied in the fourth quarter. The Thunder supporting cast actually played well — all things considered. But the Trail Blazers once again torched the nets from the outside. That was the equalizer for a second straight night. We also learned the ceiling of this OKC's duct-taped-together group. Once an NBA win machine, they're reeling at putting together a playoff-caliber team on the fly. This is certainly a different experience from previous years — when they walked to the first seed for three straight seasons.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C-minus

Surrounded by three Trail Blazers players, Gilgeous-Alexander contorted his slender frame to get by. He took one dribble as he crouched down near the floor. Taking an off-balance floater, he hurled the ball at the rim. It banked in. The circus shot sadly represented his sole fourth-quarter bucket.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 9-of-20 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-7 from 3 and went 13-of-14 on free throws. He also had one steal.

I will say this — before I criticize his night — Gilgeous-Alexander's frustrating games involve an efficient 30 points is so funny. Goes to show what the standard is for one of the era-defining NBA superstars of the 2020s. Now that that's been stated, man. The Thunder just need more of the 28-year-old. Preferably, his playstyle that helped him become a two-time MVP winner. Right now, OKC is getting a bare-bones version of that.

It was a tale of two halves for Gilgeous-Alexander. Or, to be more accurate, three frustrating quarters and one strong frame. The shot process has been off-kilter all year. The drives to the rim are way down. So are the free-throw numbers. The 28-year-old has absolutely fallen in love with contested mid-range and outside jumpers. Right now, that's not what the Thunder need. They don't have the luxury of experimentation or feel-out stints. He needs to be on the pedal to the metal at all times.

The first half was the antithesis of that. Gilgeous-Alexander had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. Yuck. The shot chart painted an uglier picture. It's almost like he's purposely making the decision to avoid getting inside the paint. If you feel like I'm being too harsh, then he likely thought the same thing. The second half was a return to form.

Gilgeous-Alexander went back to his vintage form. A bunch of drives to the rim and pulling up in the mid-range. The Trail Blazers had zero answers. He had 16 points in the frame. He attacked on every touch he had. That helped him put up a bloated night from the free-throw line. It was a nice throwback to his last few years of how he'd usually racked up super-efficient 30-point outings.

Sadly, that only lasted there. Gilgeous-Alexander was quiet in the fourth quarter. He only had seven points. Mostly on free throws, too. Regardless of how you want to slice up the blame pie, that can't happen. Especially in these circumstances, where OKC is without four of its best five players. There's no justifying a quiet closeout like that. The Thunder need him to cut out his bad habits of settling for contested jumpers and fading into the background at times. That just can't happen right now.

Isaiah Hartenstein: A-plus

Scanning his passing options, Hartenstein decided to showcase a rare selfish moment. He went straight at Donovan Clingan in the post. The seven-footer rediscovered his patented floater as it feathered through. The fourth-quarter bucket was the latest highlight of his best night of the season.

Hartenstein finished with 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds and six assists. He also had two steals.

Reading the room, Hartenstein stepped up. The 28-year-old realized how dire the health situation was. This was the lowest it's been all year. The Thunder needed him to be their second-best scorer. Yep, you read that right. Ajay Mitchell had been passable as Robin in this Post-D.C.C. era. But he was also bitten by the injury bug with an ankle sprain that kept him out.

To Hartenstein's credit, he balled out. He scored a dozen points in the first quarter. The floater finally fell for him. That has betrayed him for most of the year. Not just that, but he muscled his way to the rim as a pick-and-roll partner. He caught several alley-oops in front of Portland's gargantuan frontcourt.

The Thunder served the first punch and Hartenstein played a massive role in that. He also became the sole second-unit playmaker. Usually just a feature, they had to completely rely on his teammate-orbiting DHO actions. And all things considered? It was actually fine. OKC survived Gilgeous-Alexander's brief rest periods. The seven-footer scaled up across the board.

Speaking of which, Hartenstein also dominated the glass. The Thunder went with the double-big lineup. I thought that was initially the look they'd go to on Tuesday. But they waited for the second night to make that adjustment. Despite the result, the positive results showed that maybe OKC should've gone with that look from the jump against this tall Portland team.

Hartenstein was superb. He did enough to get a road win. Both as a traditional big man and a makeshift scorer and playmaker. A shame this outing will go in vain. Of all the reasons you want to list for this loss, how OKC's two veteran role players did is nowhere near it.

Alex Caruso: A-minus

Before the final second ticked away, Caruso swished in an outside jumper. The top-of-the-key look salvaged a poor finish to the first half. The 32-year-old did enough to secure the win. As the Thunder continue to roll along, they're no longer afforded the luxury of bubble-wrapping him.

Caruso finished with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-5 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had three steals.

Down several of their top players, the Thunder resorted to giving Caruso the start. That has seldom happened in his three seasons in OKC. But dire circumstances call for desperate measures. That said, it was the right call to make. He was draped on Lillard from the jump. They had a much better start to this one compared to Tuesday's outing.

The outside jumper fell for Caruso — something the Thunder needed badly. He had 11 points in the first half. The second half was quieter in the scoring department, but he remained critical as OKC tried to get a close win. His defensive activity helped them keep this within a couple of possessions until the end. You can tell they wanted this one by how much they pushed their available chips to the table.

Sadly, Caruso's awesome game went in vain, too. The Thunder just didn't get enough from Gilgeous-Alexander and some parts of their rotation. Wasting away one of these big-time performances by him stings even more. You only get a handful of these a season.

Aday Mara: C

Connecting on an outlet pass, Mara continues to grow his chemistry with Hartenstein. The Thunder opted to go with the double-big lineup to match the Trail Blazers' size. It's just the latest example of how the 21-year-old has gained trust. Even if most of it stems from necessity.

Mara finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had one block.

Zooming out to the big picture, Mara has held his own. His highs have shown off his tantalizing potential. His lows haven't been too detrimental. Sure, he clearly has a lot of room to grow. But he's helping the Thunder out right now. No way he predicted things would play out the way they have. In this outing, the 7-foot-3 giant was quieter than you had hoped.

There were too many moments when the Trail Blazers grabbed demoralizing offensive rebounds. That helped them get killer second-chance looks from the outside. You can't let that happen if you're OKC, obviously. Especially when you're starting two seven-footers who park themselves in the paint. There was also the interesting wrinkle where Portland forced him to make his free throws. Keep an eye on that strategy to see if opposing teams also implement it.

Until further notice, the Thunder are going to feed all of the minutes Mara can handle. He's mostly been OK in the sink-or-swim year he's had. Not to get too far ahead, but maybe when we look back at this injury-plagued year — regardless of postseason finish — his fast-tracked development will be one of the rare perks of it.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder fall apart in crunch time in 118-108 loss to Trail Blazers

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