Grizzlies at Trail Blazers
THE STORY: The Portland Trail Blazers are looking to lock up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and can take a step closer to that goal by beating the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Portland leads Memphis by one game and New Orleans by 1 1/2 with two to play. However, if the Blazers drop their final two games and wind up in a three-way tie with the Hornets and Grizzlies, they will drop to the No. 8 seed. With New Orleans losing Monday night, Memphis moved up to No. 7 in the West and can secure the sixth seed by winning its final two games.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSNW
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (47-33): The scenario is simple for Portland: win out and lock up the No. 6 seed. The Blazers are coming off a huge victory, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 93-86 on Friday night for their second straight victory and fourth in give games. LaMarcus Aldridge, as usual, led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds – his third consecutive double-double. Gerald Wallace (19 points, 13 boards) and Andre Miller (12 points, 13 assists) also registered double-doubles as all five Portland starters scored in double figures. Center Marcus Camby, who missed the last two games with a strained neck, said he expects to play Tuesday.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLES (46-34): Memphis put itself in a position to make a run at the No. 6 seed with a 111-89 home victory over New Orleans on Sunday night. Reserve O.J. Mayo scored a team-high 18 points as Memphis got 61 points from its bench. Marc Gasol scored 16 points and forwards Zach Randolph and Sam Young added 14 apiece. The trio was a combined 15 of 22 from the floor, helping the Grizzlies shoot a blistering 60.3 percent. If the Grizzlies lose to Portland, they will fall back into a tie with the Hornets, who own the tiebreaker.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Grizzlies center Gasol is averaging 14.2 points and 9.0 rebounds in his last five games. Young is averaging 12.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in his last three – well above his season marks of 7.1 and 2.3. Blazers guard Wesley Matthews is averaging 17.2 points in his last four games on 58.3 percent shooting (21 of 36) from the floor.
KEY STATISTIC: Both teams are among the best in forcing turnovers. Memphis leads the league with 9.5 steals per game; Portland ranks fourth at 8.1.
SEASON SERIES: The teams split the two meetings. Portland eked out a 100-99 win in Memphis on Nov. 16, while the Grizzlies eased to an 86-73 home victory on Dec. 13.
KEY INJURIES: MEMPHIS: G Jason Williams (back); G Xavier Henry (knee). PORTLAND: C Marcus Camby (neck); F Nicolas Batum (knee).
LAST WORD: “We’re still hungry. We’re thirsty dogs. We’re not trying to just stop because we made the playoffs. It doesn’t stop there. It stops when we lose in the playoffs.” – Memphis forward Darrell Arthur on not being complacent by securing a playoff berth.