National Basketball Association
Portland 99, Memphis 92
When: 10:30 PM ET, Monday, April 27, 2015
Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon
Officials:
#43 Dan Crawford, #11 Derrick Collins, #8 Marc Davis
Attendance:
19541
By The Sports Xchange
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Guard Damian Lillard scored 32 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-92 Monday night at the Moda Center.
The Trail Blazers outscored the Grizzlies 29-12 over the final 8 1/2 minutes to cut their deficit in the best-of-seven, Western Conference first-round playoff series to 3-1. Memphis will again look to close out Portland in Game 5 on Wednesday night in Tennessee.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, guard C.J. McCollum had 18 points, forward Meyers Leonard collected 13 points and 13 rebounds, and forward Nicolas Batum contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers.
Center Marc Gasol had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, for the Grizzlies while Courtney Lee scored 19 points.
Lillard had 16 points and five assists, and Leonard added 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting -- 3-for-3 from 3-point range -- as Portland built a 55-48 halftime advantage. Guards Beno Udrih (13 points) and Nick Calathes (nine) combined for 22 points for the Grizzlies by the break.
Memphis began the third quarter on a 16-2 run to grab a 64-57 lead, the Blazers starting 0-for-10 from the field and going without a basket for the first 6:45 of the quarter. The Grizzlies jacked the margin to 67-59 and settled for a 75-68 edge heading into the final period. Memphis outscored Portland 27-13 in the third quarter, the Blazers hitting five of 20 shots from the field.
The Grizzlies went ahead 80-70 on a 3-pointer by forward Jeff Green as the shot clock expired with 8:48 to play. The Blazers used a 6-0 run to draw within 80-76 with 6:30 left.
After a Gasol basket, Aldridge sank four straight free throws to bring Portland to within 82-80 with 5:10 remaining. McCollum scored on a driving layup to tie it at 82-82 with 4:50 left.
Gasol scored on a hook shot to give Memphis an 84-82 lead with 3:30 to play. McCollum scored on a left-handed drive to tie it again at 84-84 with 2:31 to go. Gasol sank a pair at the line for an 86-84 Grizzlies advantage with 2:11 left.
Lillard buried a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play to push Portland ahead 88-86 with 1:58 remaining. Memphis forward Zach Randolph's hook tied the score at 88-88 with 1:45 to go.
McCollum sank a 3-pointer for a 91-88 Portland lead with 1:26 left. Lillard missed a 3-point attempt, but Batum was fouled in the battle for the rebound and sank one of two at the line to make it 92-88 with 28.7 seconds on the clock.
Lee scored on a layup with 18.9 seconds to go to close the gap to 92-90. Lillard made two free throws to up the difference to 94-90 with 15.1 ticks left.
Gasol scored on a dunk with 8.9 seconds left, but Lillard made another pair at the line with 5.1 seconds to go to wrap things up.
NOTES: Memphis has never swept a playoff series. The Grizzlies won just two playoff series in franchise history, victories over the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2013. ... Memphis fell to 7-1 against Portland in 2014-15. No opponent ever went 8-0 against the Trail Blazers in a season. San Antonio went 7-1 (3-1 in the regular season, 4-0 in the playoffs) in 1998-99. ... Memphis G Mike Conley underwent what the Grizzlies called successful surgery Monday for a facial injury sustained in Saturday's Game-3 victory. Coach Dave Joerger isn't sure when Conley will return to action. "It's hard to say if it will be a week or a month, or three weeks or three months," Joerger said. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts was asked if he tells his players to just relax and have fun. "Look, it's hard work out there. The fun comes when you win after the hard work."
Top Game Performances
| Memphis |
|
Portland |
|
Marc Gasol 21 |
Scoring |
Damian Lillard 32 |
|
Marc Gasol 6 |
Assists |
Damian Lillard 7 |
|
Tony Allen 10 |
Rebounds |
Nicolas Batum 13 |
|
Marc Gasol 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Damian Lillard 7 |
|
Nick Calathes 3 |
Steals |
C.J. McCollum 2 |
|
Tony Allen 2 |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Memphis
|
92 |
43.9 |
7-14 |
13-14 |
19 |
40 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
| Portland
|
99 |
41.4 |
8-25 |
19-21 |
18 |
50 |
0 |
5 |
9 |
Upcoming Games
-
Portland will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .692 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Memphis will play their next game at home against Portland. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .685 after a win and .643 after a loss.
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