Relentlessly driving to the basket, Shai 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 Donovan Clingan rejected him at the rim.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were ran out of the gym in a 123-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. They had a poor second half after being tied at the end of the first half.
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 this — where it's too much to reasonably ask from one guy. 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.
You can thank Damian Lillard for going supernova for that. Even with his grey basketball whiskers, the 36-year-old can still light up the scoreboard. Not even a torn Achilles tendon can totally slow him down. He's not at the peak of his powers anymore, but he isn't needed to play that type of role in Portland in his second stint there.
"Obviously, as decorated as they come. Really good player," Gilgeous-Alexander said about Lillard. "Having guys like that out there is always great for the game. He's one of the best shooters to ever touch a basketball. That doesn't leave you. He's a big reason why they out-stretched us in the third tonight. If we want to come out with a W, we have to do a better job."
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.
"It'll be fun. It has a little bit of an AAU feel. You usually don't get that in the NBA," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Play in the same building against the same team the next day. Try to go out there and get a win again. It should be fun. It usually is."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggles to carry OKC Thunder in loss to Trail Blazers
