The Sports Xchange
Nov 20, 2017
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- CJ McCollum scored 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 100-92 on Monday night at FedExForum.
Memphis (7-9) lost its fifth straight as the Trail Blazers posted a whopping 60-35 rebounding advantage. Portland (10-7) overcame 17 turnovers that led to 18 Memphis points.
Mario Chalmers led Memphis with 21 points and added six rebounds and six assists.
The Trail Blazers carried a 72-71 lead into the fourth quarter. The score was tied 80-80 with 6:41 left in the game after Memphis center Marc Gasol (19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks) split two free throws.
From there, Portland twice stretched the lead to eight points.
Memphis cut it to 96-92 with 52 seconds left on a driving layup from guard Tyreke Evans (20 points, three rebounds and three assists).
McCollum hit a jumper with 35 seconds left to lift the advantage to 98-92. Portland's Damian Lillard (21 points, four assists) hit two free throws to complete the scoring.
Portland shot 39.8 percent from the floor and went 6 of 15 from 3-point range for 40 percent. Memphis shot 38.4 percent from the field and went 8 of 30 from distance for 26.7 percent.
Shabazz Napier gave Portland 16 points with four rebounds and three assists off the bench. Starting forward Noah Vonieh finished with 18 rebounds, one off his career high, and 11 points.
Grizzlies forward JaMychal Green chipped in 11 points with five rebounds.
The Trail Blazers led 55-46 at halftime behind 16 points from McCollum.
NOTES: The Grizzlies' injury woes continued to mount. Already missing PG Mike Conley, who will be out a minimum of two weeks and probably longer, Memphis is now without F Brandan Wright after he injured a groin last Saturday vs. Houston. "With him being a speed guy, it really impacted him," Grizzlies coach David Fizdale said. ... Coming into the game, Trail Blazers C Jusuf Nurkic had committed 53 fouls this season and was averaging 3.3 fouls per game. He had four on Monday. "He gets himself in trouble by reaching," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ... Stotts said he is hopeful that F Al-Farouq Aminu (right ankle) could begin practicing during the current five-game road trip. ... G Tyreke Evans was the only Memphis bench player to score in the first half. He had 16 points in 15 minutes. Five other Grizzlies scored zero points in a combined 28 minutes.