The Portland Trail Blazers squandered an otherwise admirable and competitive effort with a dismal fourth quarter on Wednesday night, falling to the Miami Heat 104-92 at FTX Arena.

Chauncey Billups' team scored just 12 points in the final period, shooting 5-of-23 from the field as Miami amped up its defensive intensity even further. The Blazers had no answer on the end for Bam Adebayo, either, who dropped half of his 20 points in the game's last five minutes.

“We was playing well all throughout the first half, third quarter,” Anfernee Simons said. “I think late in the fourth their athleticism and length kinda disrupted us a little bit. We had a couple of good looks and good plays, but ultimately they made a little bit more plays than us, and that's what finished the game.”

Simons continued his eye-opening play in South Beach, scoring a game-high 27 points on 50% from the field and canning six three-pointers. He looked very comfortable at times attacking the Heat's changing defensive coverages with the pass, too, finishing with a team-best seven assists. Simons failed to deliver when Portland needed him most, though, stifled by Miami's switching defense en route to 1-of-4 shooting and no assists during a fourth quarter his team was outscored by 14.

As Billups saw it, Adebayo's unique ability to keep up with dangerous lead ball handlers on the perimeter wasn't the only factor behind Simons fading late.

“Ant got a little winded there in the fourth quarter,” Billups said. “He kept us in it early, we jumped on his back, and then I kinda thought that wore him down a bit.”

Simons didn't disagree. He credited Adebayo, a “great mover,” for keeping the ball in front when they were matched up on the perimeter after switches. Simons lauded Miami's overall length and activity, even admitting that Caleb Martin's pressure defense in the backcourt contributed to him wearing out late.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)

The 22-year-old was hardly feeling defeated after falling short against one of the most physical, well-coached teams in basketball., though. Simons was more appreciative of the Heat's challenge than anything else, already seeing his relative failure in crunch-time as an opportunity for even more progress.

“That's a part of growing and continuing to grow my game, learning how to stay poised in those situations even when you're tired, and being able to deliver when it counts,” he said. “I see it as a good lesson, especially in a game like this—the toughest game since I've been starting, for sure. That was a real game.”

Much about Portland's short and long-term future remains in flux. But if Simons' ongoing breakthrough since Damian Lillard went down to start the New Year proves a harbinger, it could be only a matter of time until he and the Blazers are playing more of those “real games” in the postseason.