3 Studs and 2 duds from Trail Blazers' encouraging loss to the Pacers

The Portland Trail Blazers have had an up-and-down month of November. After stringing together three wins in a row in mid-November, they've now lost four of their last five. This time around, the Blazers fell to the Indiana Pacers on the road, 121-114. It was a much closer game than the final score indicated, which is an encouraging sign, especially given how many Blazers were out with injuries.

Portland was without Robert Williams III (concussion protocol), Donovan Clingan (knee), Kris Murray (chest), Jerami Grant (knee), and Matisse Thybulle (ankle). Typically the tallest team in the NBA, the Blazers lacked size in this contest. Thanks to a few key contributors, they made up for it by shooting 45.7 percent from beyond the arc.

For better or worse, these Blazers players stood out

Stud No. 1: Anfernee Simons

Simons has been having a relatively down season so far, but that was in large part due to illness and injuries. This game officially marked his return to the Simons Blazers fans' knowledge and love. He finished with a game-high 30 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds on 10 of 21 shooting from the field and 6 of 12 shooting from three.

Dud No. 1: Shaedon Sharpe

Sharpe still finished with a respectable 17 points, three assists, and three rebounds on 8 of 19 shooting. But he wasn't the Sharpe that we've been accustomed to seeing the previous six contests in which he averaged 23 points per game.

There were two significant differences in Sharpe's game against the Pacers -- his three-point shooting and lack of free throw attempts. The Blazers guard shot just 1 of 7 from deep and only had one free throw attempt. Before this matchup, he had at least six free throw attempts in the past six games.

Stud No. 2: Scoot Henderson

This was one of Scoot Henderson's best games as a Blazer in terms of being a playmaker. Henderson finished with 17 points, nine assists, and perhaps most importantly, just one turnover. His shot was falling, too, connecting on 3 of 4 attempts from three.

Turnovers and three-point shooting have been the two major concerns surrounding Scoot's game so far this season, so it was refreshing to see him play so well, and it is an encouraging sign going forward. The next step in his development will be figuring out how to consistently string together games like this.

Dud No. 2: Toumani Camara

Toumani Camara was essentially a non-factor. He only played 24 minutes after getting into foul trouble in the first half, which was unfortunate because the Blazers could have used more of Camara's size down both Clingan and Williams. Per usual, he still played solid defense as both an on-ball and help defender, but we would have liked to see Camara make more of an impact overall.

Stud No. 3: Deandre Ayton

Ayton was questionable with a finger injury that has sidelined him since Nov. 10, but the Blazers were fortunate to have him available. Down two centers, Portland desperately needed Ayton to step up in this matchup, and he did just that, impacting the game on both ends of the floor with 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and one steal.

Part of the question mark surrounding Ayton's game is his impact on winning, as he doesn't provide much rim protection, but he was able to address that against the Pacers.