Grizzlies 98, Trail Blazers 92
Marc Gasol scored 21 points and Courtney Lee added 19 as visiting Memphis defeated Portland for the third time this season.
Zach Randolph had 15 points and nine rebounds and Mike Conley contributed 15 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies, who committed just seven turnovers while forcing 15. Jeff Green added 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting as Memphis recorded its 40th win of the campaign.
Damian Lillard had 18 points and seven assists and Nicolas Batum added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who played without star forward LaMarcus Aldridge (thumb). Steve Blake tallied 13 points and hit all four of his 3-point attempts and Meyers Leonard added 11.
Memphis overcame a double-digit deficit with an 18-3 surge in the fourth and took an 87-85 lead on Tony Allen’s dunk with 4:13 remaining. Lee’s 3-pointer with 2:27 left put the Grizzlies ahead by two, Gasol added a jumper with 30 seconds to play and Lee drained two free throws 10 seconds later as Memphis outscored the Trail Blazers 34-15 over the final 12 minutes.
Portland used an 11-2 run early in the second quarter to take a 32-21 lead and the Grizzlies answered with 13 in a row to take a two-point advantage and the game was tied at 38 at the break. The Trail Blazers scored 39 in the third quarter and went 7-of-11 from 3-point range as Blake made three 3-pointers and Arron Afflalo added one over the final 92 seconds of the stanza to take a 77-64 lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Grizzlies had 13 steals, led by four from G Nick Calathes. … Afflalo had eight points on 2-of-6 shooting in 24 minutes while making his Portland debut. … Memphis had a 54-26 edge in points in the paint.