Field Level Media
Dec 16, 2021
Desmond Bane scored 23 points and Dillon Brooks added 22 as the Memphis Grizzlies notched a 113-103 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
Kyle Anderson added 13 points and a season-best 11 rebounds and Tyus Jones scored 12 points as the Grizzlies improved to 9-1 since star guard Ja Morant sustained a knee injury. Memphis also won its fifth straight road game.
Norman Powell scored 25 points and Anfernee Simons added 22 for Portland, which lost its seventh consecutive game and 10th in the past 11.
Damian Lillard tallied 21 points but was just 6 of 21 from the field and Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Portland's CJ McCollum missed his fifth straight game due to a collapsed lung.
The Trail Blazers have dropped six straight home games after opening the season with a 10-1 mark.
Steven Adams contributed 10 points and 14 rebounds and Xavier Tillman also scored 10 points for Memphis, which connected on 47.6 percent of its field-goal attempts, including 11 of 32 from behind the arc. Bane was 5 of 8 from long range.
The Trail Blazers shot 37.8 percent and were 15 of 38 from behind the arc.
Bane made two 3-pointers and Brooks and John Konchar each hit one as the Grizzlies ripped off 14 straight points to start the fourth quarter. Brooks capped the surge with his trey to make it 94-82 with 8:31 remaining.
Portland was unable to make a strong push and trailed 110-101 after Powell's basket with two minutes left. But Bane answered with a 3-pointer 16 seconds later and Memphis closed it out.
The Grizzlies led 55-47 at the break before Portland opened the third quarter with an 18-4 spurt. Nurkic's hoop capped the run to give the Trail Blazers a six-point lead.
Nurkic made two free throws to push Portland's lead to 78-68 with 3:45 left. Memphis finished the quarter with a 12-4 run to trail 82-80 entering and its run reached 26-4 with the hot-shooting start to the fourth quarter.
The Trail Blazers led 13-4 just four-plus minutes into the game before Memphis responded with a 28-6 burst to hold a 32-19 lead with 10:29 remaining in the first half.
The Grizzlies' largest lead was 16 points on De'Anthony Melton's shot jumper that made it 50-34 with 3:27 remaining.
--Field Level Media