National Basketball Association
Portland 140, Memphis 135
When: 4:00 PM ET, Friday, July 31, 2020
Where: The Arena, Kissimmee, Florida
Officials:
#16 David Guthrie, #55 Bill Kennedy, #50 Gediminas Petraitis
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
CJ McCollum scored 33 points, Damian Lillard added 29 and the Portland Trail Blazers overwhelmed the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime Friday to win, 140-135, in the first Orlando-area seeding game for both teams.
Portland (30-37) built a first-half lead then surged ahead 75-62 in the third quarter before a 22-6 Memphis run pushed the Grizzlies (32-34) ahead. The Trail Blazers played from behind for much of the fourth quarter, but remained within striking distance.
Two 3-pointers from Carmelo Anthony in the final 1:23 gave Portland the lead, including a 124-122 advantage with 37.5 seconds remaining. Brandon Clarke, who scored 21 points for Memphis off the bench, responded with a game-tying basket.
Ja Morant led a breakaway off of a defensive rebound in the closing seconds, but got tangled with a defender and was unable to get off a shot.
Morant, the Grizzlies' leading scorer on the season at just under 18 points per game, finished with 22 points Friday. He had only two points on 1-of-5 shooting at halftime, but came to life to lead the third-quarter run.
Morant scored seven consecutive points over one stretch, capped with a spectacular dunk off a lob from Clarke. Morant returned the favor to Clarke in the fourth quarter with one of his 11 assists, but Clarke was hit with a technical foul on the ensuing celebration.
The technical marked a critical turning point. Memphis went ahead by seven points on the dunk, but Portland began a 12-4 run over the next 2:21. Neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of regulation.
That changed in overtime. McCollum knocked down a 3-pointer, followed immediately by another from Gary Trent Jr. for three of his 17 points off the bench. Trent went 4 of 5 from 3-point range for the game and McCollum went 3 of 6 on an afternoon in which the Trail Blazers went 13 of 30 from deep.
Jaren Jackson Jr., who matched McCollum's game-high 33 points, went 6 of 15 from 3-point range. However, Memphis shot just 13 of 41 from outside as a team.
The Grizzlies came into the NBA bubble in the Orlando area with a 3 1/2-game lead for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoff race. Portland was one of three teams just behind Memphis for the final postseason berth.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Memphis |
|
Portland |
|
Jaren Jackson Jr. 33 |
Scoring |
CJ McCollum 33 |
|
Ja Morant 11 |
Assists |
Damian Lillard 9 |
|
Brandon Clarke 7 |
Rebounds |
Zach Collins 9 |
|
Brandon Clarke 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Jusuf Nurkic 8 |
|
De'Anthony Melton 3 |
Steals |
Mario Hezonja 3 |
|
Brandon Clarke 2 |
Blocks |
Jusuf Nurkic 6 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Memphis
|
135 |
45.2 |
13-41 |
38-50 |
25 |
39 |
5 |
9 |
13 |
| Portland
|
140 |
53.8 |
13-30 |
29-34 |
27 |
42 |
9 |
10 |
17 |
Upcoming Games
-
Portland will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .393 after a win and .487 after a loss.
-
Memphis will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .515 after a win and .455 after a loss.
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