Slowly bringing the ball up, everybody knew what was going to happen. Damian Lillard utilized a screen to get a smidge of space at the halfcourt logo. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alex Caruso and Aday Mara all closing out on him, the all-time legend turned back the clock for a vintage outing as he drained the outside jumper.

The Oklahoma City Thunder ran out of juice with a poor second half in a 123-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. They're still figuring out how to beat high-quality opponents in their new NBA reality.

Seeing an upgrade over their last two opponents, the Thunder learned that the offense is going to be a work in progress against any upper-half team in the Post-D.C.C. (Dub, Chet, Caso) era. Gilgeous-Alexander quickly realized how grim the situation looked, so he tried to take over as a one-man show. Meanwhile, Deni Avdija bulldozed his way to the rim.

The Thunder had a small 27-26 lead over the Trail Blazers after the first quarter. The scoreboard remained a possession or two throughout the second frame. Ajay Mitchell hit a circus layup as Donovan Clingan laid him out. Nique Clifford made his OKC debut as well. On the other side, Chris Youngblood invoked some revenge with timely outside jumpers.

To close out the first half, Mara grabbed a couple of his misses. Eventually, he muscled his way past Branden Carlson for the putback. The 21-year-old yelled at the top of his lungs in celebration and flexed his muscles. The Thunder kept up with 32 points in the second quarter. Things were knotted up at 59 points apiece at the halftime break.

After that, the Thunder started the second half on fumes. Lillard turned back the clock. The 36-year-old hunted McCain on a couple of possessions. Once he saw a couple of shots go in, he felt cocky. Even with Caruso on him, the future Hall-of-Famer drilled a couple of his patented deep outside jumpers. The most damning one happened at the buzzer as three OKC players were within his vicinity — but it didn't matter.

The Trail Blazers had a game-altering 18-4 run. Meanwhile, the Thunder just completely fell apart. Any sense of a formidable offense was lost as Portland buried them from the perimeter. OKC only had 21 points in the third frame. The Trail Blazers flirted with 40. By then, the Thunder were in a 97-80 hole.

The score only escalated from there. Any hopes of a comeback were dispelled in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. After a close game through the first half, the Thunder fell behind by as many as 22 points. They only had 23 points in the final frame. Gilgeous-Alexander sat out as they're on the front end of this Portland back-to-back. I sympathize with the folks who ruined their sleep schedule by staying up for this extremely-late tip.

The Thunder shot 44% from the field and went 8-of-22 (36.4%) from 3. They shot 21-of-27 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 37 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 26 points and eight rebounds. McCain dropped 21 points and three assists. Mitchell was quiet with 14 points and three assists. Mara tallied a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Bennett Stirtz had 13 points.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers shot 44% from the field and went 19-of-50 (38%) from 3. They shot 24-of-26 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 40 baskets. Six Trail Blazers players scored double-digit points.

Lillard had a throwback outing with 25 points and three assists. Avdija chipped in with 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Sidy Cissoko helped with 17 points and three assists. Toumani Camara had 12 points and three rebounds. Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson each scored 11 points apiece.

As valiant as the Thunder were in their recent four-game win streak, we once again saw the severe limitations of their current group. Do you think Lillard would've gone off the way he did if Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace were suited up? No. Not at all. Same for OKC's offensive woes showing up in the second half. I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but there's no underselling just how much their absences absolutely take away from the Thunder.

Can't do much else. Until Holmgren arrives as help eventually, anyway. That's now three road blowout losses against high-quality West teams since the Thunder experienced their season-altering night of injuries. Can't help but notice a disturbing trend there — as they hope to find their footing with this current glued-together group. Zooming out, OKC can still salvage this back-to-back. All it realistically needed was a split in Portland. That's still on the table.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C

Relentlessly driving to the basket, Gilgeous-Alexander went straight into Portland's defense. That was the best look the Thunder could produce as their halfcourt offense melted away — ala Clayface. The two-time MVP winner's ugly downhill drive attempt ended badly as Clingan rejected him at the rim.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists. He shot 0-of-4 from 3 and went 10-of-11 on free throws. He also had one block.

These are the low points the Thunder are going to have to navigate in their new NBA reality. When you're relying on role players to step up as starters, you're going to have nights like these where it's too much to reasonably ask. To Gilgeous-Alexander's credit, he read the room early on. The 28-year-old knew he had to go into empty-the-clip mode for a shot to pull off the road upset.

Once again, Gilgeous-Alexander looked for his shot within the perimeter. He constantly drove to the basket. That helped him get a healthy dosage of free-throw attempts — something that has been missing from his game all year. He was also dangerous in the mid-range. Per usual. Didn't matter which one of Portland's high-end perimeter defenders was thrown his way. He surgically took apart the Trail Blazers and buried a handful of mid-range jumpers.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points in the first half. Under normal circumstances, that meant the Thunder were up by a gazillion points. Instead, his heroics had the game tied up at halftime. Looking human in the third quarter, OKC was blitzed on the scoreboard. His previous margin for error is now gone. They'll go as far as he'll take them. They threw in the towel as he sat out the final frame of a lopsided score.

The unfortunate reality is the Thunder need Gilgeous-Alexander to play better than this. Both in point total and efficiency. Specifically, the type of shots he's taking. It can't be mostly pull-up jumpers. Even if he's one of the most talented scorers in the game. The Trail Blazers made him truly earn all of his buckets. The process has to be easier than it was on this outing. Or you risk the game getting out of hand in the blink of an eye.

Jared McCain: B

Trailing the play, Gilgeous-Alexander darted the ball back out to McCain. The 22-year-old swished in the left-wing outside jumper. The early third-quarter bucket proved to be the last time OKC would hold a lead before it was on the wrong side of an avalanche run.

McCain finished with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 5-of-6 on free throws.

Aside from Gilgeous-Alexander, McCain was the only other guy to build a rhythm. Since the Post-D.C.C. era started, the Thunder have shaken up their starting lineup on an every-other-night basis. In this case, they went small as he received the starting nod. The surprising decision paid dividends. Even if it didn't affect the final result that much.

Out of necessity, McCain has learned on the job. He no longer has the luxury of just being a spot-up guy. He's had to fast-track his development as an all-around scorer. This is one of those nights where you see the high end of that. His outside shots fell, sure, but he also carved up the interior. On top of that, he figured out how to get to the free-throw line at a decent clip.

McCain had a dozen points in the first half. He helped the Thunder stay within it. The second half was the opposite. His defense was exposed as Lillard kept hunting him on switches as he found a groove. Usually, OKC would sub him out. But considering how dire its health situation is, it couldn't afford to do that. Or risk seeing the offense plummet from struggling to flat-out atrocious.

None of it mattered as the Thunder were beaten up in the second half. But zooming out, McCain is swimming with the current. He's been unfairly asked to be a prominent scorer this year on a whim. Sure, that's had its growing pains, but he's been mostly good at supplementing some of the offense.

Ajay Mitchell: C-minus

Finally having had enough, Mitchell went right at Clingan. The usually-polite guard didn't care about the size disadvantage. The two had it going all night. And considering the Thunder were getting blown out, tempers were likely short to begin with. Both were quickly separated as part of basketball's bravado.

Mitchell finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one steal.

Slicing his way through Portland's defense, Mitchell flexed his drive-heavy scoring game. He bumped into Clingan on a wild floater attempt. As he threw it up out of pure desperation, it rainbowed in. The Dude-Perfect-esque trick shot highlighted his feel as he ran into a seven-foot brick wall and fell.

In a vacuum, Mitchell had a fine game. He had 10 points in the first half as the Thunder kept it competitive. He found his mid-range spots despite heavy foot traffic. The only problem? This is a decent outing for your Sixth Man — not for someone who's jettisoned as your makeshift second-best player. It's not fair to put those expectations on his shoulders, but those are the cards OKC has been dealt since pre-Halloween.

Let's see if Mitchell can play on their second night in Portland. But the Thunder needed more out of him. His quiet second half allowed this game to get out of hand. OKC's offense was completely in the mud. You're going to need a lot better outings from your supporting cast if you want to win on the road against a probable West playoff team.

Aday Mara: B

Collecting a couple of his misses in the final seconds of the first half, Mara showed off his brute force. Finally, he shoved Branden Carlson out of the way. The 21-year-old bullied his way up for the putback. He screamed at the top of his lungs in celebration. The veins on his arms popped out as he flexed his muscles.

Mara finished with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 10 rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-1 on free throws. He also had one block.

The Thunder are going to keep feeding Mara minutes on top of minutes. Even if he struggles. Especially if he succeeds. The last time an OKC rookie had the luxury of learning on the job like this was Wallace — way back in 2023 when they took their first steps toward being a title contender. Of course, the circumstances for his guaranteed playing time are a lot grimmer — with a frontcourt decimated by injuries.

To Mara's credit, he's been a plus. He logged a double-double in this blowout loss. The Thunder keep feeding him the ball down low. He keeps repaying their trust with alley-oops and putbacks. The seven-footer has gone back and forth between starting since the Post-D.C.C. era started. I wonder if they'll lean on the double-big lineup in Wednesday's rematch.

No such things as silver linings with the Thunder. They entered the year as co-title favorites. But losing three of your four best players to season-altering injuries on the same night is the type of gut punch you'll feel the ripple effects of for a while. That said, the NBA marathon moves on. And Mara has taken advantage of his opportunities. Nice to have a seven-footer who plays like a seven-footer.