The Portland Trail Blazers shot well from long distance Wednesday night, played with effort and played close with the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road.

One major problem: The Blazers failed to take care of the ball.

Portland matched its season high with 24 turnovers (15 in the first half), and the Thunder took advantage, winning 109-99 to end the Blazers’ three-game winning streak.

“I was proud of us,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups told reporters at Paycom Center. “We played hard. We really did. End of the day, 24 turnovers is hard to overcome. Especially against a really good team.”

The Blazers trailed just 87-86 midway through the fourth quarter after a Toumani Camara put-back basket.

The Blazers then missed six of their next seven shot attempts, while the Thunder went on a 16-5 run to lead 103-91 with 1:50 remaining.

Shaedon Sharpe led the Blazers with 21 points while making 4 of 8 threes but also committed six turnovers. Camara and Jerami Grant each scored 14 points.

The Thunder were led with 30 points from forward Jalen Williams, who went 11-of-19 from the field and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points while making all 14 of his free throw attempts.

The Blazers shot 5 of 11 on threes in the first quarter and led by as much as 10. But the Thunder rallied and trailed just 23-21 entering the second quarter.

In the second, the Blazers committed a whopping 10 turnovers and shot just 31.8% from the field.

“We knew that was going to be a challenge for us,” Billups said. “That team is very scrappy. They turn people over in a major way.”

Despite the sloppy play, the Blazers trailed only 47-44 at halftime.

The Thunder, who entered the night leading the NBA with 12.3 steals per game, created 14 against the Blazers. Oklahoma City converted the Blazers‘ turnovers into 28 points.

The Thunder repeatedly got into the paint, producing 56 points inside compared to 32 for the Blazers, who shot 39.5% from three-point range. The Thunder shot 29%.

Billups blamed the team’s turnovers on being overly aggressive when attacking the paint.

“We overpenetrated, something that we talked about that we didn’t want to do against this team, because they swarm you,” Billups said. “The deeper you get into the paint, the more people are there, which makes the pass tougher. And they’re really good at stripping the ball. And these are things that we talked about and kind of went over. But they make most teams do that.”

What it means

The Blazers (6-9) demonstrated many positive traits that were present while winning three consecutive games, which is a good sign moving forward. However, their poor interior defense and turnovers were not a recipe for success against the Thunder (12-4).

Scoot Henderson injured

Point guard Scoot Henderson left the game in the third quarter with a left quad contusion and did not return. He ended the night with nine points and eight assists in 26 minutes and 45 seconds.

Billups did not have an update on Henderson after the game.

Simons and Ayton

The Blazers were again without center Deandre Ayton (right index finger sprain) and point guard Anfernee Simons (illness).

Simons had been upgraded to questionable, while Ayton was listed as doubtful.

Ayton last played on Nov. 10 during the team’s blowout loss to Memphis. Simons left the team’s win on Nov. 12 in the first quarter after experiencing shortness of breath.

Next up

The Blazers play at 5 p.m. Friday at the Houston Rockets (11-5).