The Trail Blazers were a virtual no-show after their blowout loss to the Grizzlies

The Portland Trail Blazers have experienced more ups than downs when it comes to performing on a curve this season, acknowledging that another rebuilding season won’t produce many wins.

But the 134:89 home defeat on Sunday evening against the Memphis Grizzlies represents the lowest point so far.

It’s one thing to get blown up by top teams with star players like Golden State (140-104), Oklahoma City (137-114) and Minnesota (127-102). It’s once again being outclassed by a team missing two of their three best players.

“It was just embarrassing,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “We were damn soft the whole game. Nobody really fought. It was just embarrassing for everyone. That’s just not who we are. It really isn’t. There is no excuse for this.”

Billups added that tough nights are to be expected at times in the NBA, but the Blazers’ performance can’t be easily explained.

“It was like our guys just showed up because they had to be here and didn’t want to play,” he said. “I didn’t really want to work. And that’s embarrassing. It’s unfortunate that we had to go out in front of our fans who paid their hard-earned money to see their favorite team play and we’re there doing that.”

The Grizzlies, without star guards Ja Morant and Demond Bane, led by as many as 19 in the first quarter and 25 in the second quarter.

They made and hit wide-open threes, found teammates on backdoor cuts for layups and dunked on fast breaks set in motion by the Blazers’ turnovers. They disrupted Portland’s offense so much that only one starter scored in double figures.

The Blazers started as poorly as possible. They shot 1 of 10 from three-point range in the first quarter and had nine turnovers. The Grizzlies led 31-17 at the end of the quarter.

The horror continued in the second quarter as the Blazers committed seven more turnovers and made 0 of 8 three-pointers. Meanwhile, Memphis shot 54.5% in the first half and led 64-44 at halftime.

The Blazers didn’t make their second three-pointer until Scoot Henderson hit one in the third quarter, leaving them 1 of 22 and trailing 82-55.

Jerami Grant hit another goal shortly after, but the Grizzlies responded with a basket and a three-pointer to make it 93-60.

Grant led the Blazers with 20 points. Dalano Banton and Donovan Clingan came off the bench and scored 13 points each.

Anfernee Simons scored just four points with one assist while shooting 2 of 9 from the field.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Portland finished the night shooting 4 of 42 from three-point range (9.5%) and committed a whopping 22 turnovers. The Grizzlies went 16 of 43 (37.2%) from three-point range. But in the fourth quarter, with the game almost over, the backups combined for 2 of 10 points.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazers’ (3-8) loss to the Grizzlies (7-4) without Morant and Bane is bad enough. But rampaging is unacceptable, especially for a team that is almost completely healthy.

The Blazers may not have another realistic chance to win until they host Atlanta (4-7) on Sunday. The Blazers’ next opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, defeated them 127-102 on Friday.

SHAEDON SHARPE STARTS

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups replaced Deni Avdija in the starting lineup with guard Shaedon Sharpe, who returned to action Thursday after missing the first eight games with a shoulder injury.

Sharpe, who scored 19 points in his first two appearances, contributed seven points on 3 of 10 shooting against the Grizzlies.

Next

The Blazers host the Timberwolves on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.