Grizzlies at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers attempt to win their 10th consecutive contest when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. Portland continued its strong play by posting a 105-97 win over the Charlotte Hornets to improve to 7-0 against Eastern Conference foes. Now the Trail Blazers put their winning streak on the line against the powerful Grizzlies, who have won three straight games, have the top record in the West, and are tied with the Toronto Raptors for the best record in the NBA.
Memphis opened a four-game road trip by recording a 99-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. “It says a lot about our focus early this season,” point guard Mike Conley said. “That’s all we want to do, is to come out focused for the first couple months of the season, set a good standard for ourselves, and have to just hold ourselves accountable and try to get better.” Portland guard Wesley Matthews scored 28 points and made a season-best six 3-pointers against Charlotte while star forward LaMarcus Aldridge struggled to nine points on 3-of-18 shooting.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Charlotte), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (13-2): Center Marc Gasol had 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Lakers and he was more proud of the defense the team played down the stretch. “We got more stops, got a little more physical with each possession,” Gasol told reporters. “Put more pressure on them, everything we should have done all night. It’s never perfect, but you aim for perfection.” Gasol is averaging 25.8 points over the past four games, including two 30-point outings.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (12-3): Matthews has made five or more 3-pointers three times this season but has struggled with his shot on other occasions. “I knew it was just a matter of time before that drought ended and I’m back to being myself,” Matthews told reporters. “Hopefully tonight was a step in that direction.” Matthews was 8-of-25 from behind the arc over the previous five games before the 6-of-9 showing against the Hornets.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Trail Blazers won the last meeting to end the Grizzlies’ five-game winning streak in the series.
2. Portland SF Nicolas Batum is averaging 9.3 points and shooting 3-for-16 from 3-point range in four games since returning from a knee injury.
3. Memphis SG Vince Carter has failed to reach double digits in six straight games and is 11-of-41 from the field during that stretch.