Grizzlies 94, Trail Blazers 76: Mike Conley scored a game-high 20 points and Zach Randolph added 17 and eight rebounds as visiting Memphis set the franchise record with its 51st victory of the season.
Tony Allen had 14 points and Ed Davis chipped in 12 and 10 boards for the Grizzlies (51-24), who remained fifth in the Western Conference as Denver (51-24) - which owns the tiebreaker between the clubs - defeated Utah on Wednesday. Memphis eclipsed the previous franchise mark of 50 wins set in 2003-04.
J.J. Hickson recorded 17 points and nine boards while Damian Lillard also scored 17 points for the Trail Blazers, who began a five-game homestand with their sixth consecutive loss. Portland fell six games behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers with seven contests remaining.
Memphis began the game with a 9-2 run and scored the final five points of the opening quarter to take a 32-21 lead. The Grizzlies held an identical 11-point advantage at the half and Randolph scored six points during an 11-2 spurt in the third that created a 74-58 lead with 3:01 to go.
After Portland got within 11 on Victor Claver's jump shot with 6:23 left in the fourth, Memphis hit three straight shots to push the advantage to 88-71 with 5:07 to play. Pondexter made a pair of free throws with 2:43 remaining to give the Grizzlies their largest lead at 92-73, and Memphis cruised the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Grizzlies were 4-for-12 from 3-point range, with Conley going 3-for-5. Portland was dreadful from beyond the arc, going 4-for-29. G Wesley Matthews made only two of his 10 attempts. ... Memphis, which has won 21 of its last 27 games, improved to 11-3 when Conley scores at least 20 points. ... Trail Blazers F LaMarcus Aldridge missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle.
Memphis | Portland | |
Mike Conley 20 | Scoring | J.J. Hickson 17 |
Jerryd Bayless 7 | Assists | Eric Maynor 10 |
Ed Davis 10 | Rebounds | J.J. Hickson 9 |
Zach Randolph 7 | Free Throws Made | Will Barton 2 |
Tony Allen 5 | Steals | Joel Freeland 2 |
Darrell Arthur 3 | Blocks | J.J. Hickson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Memphis | 94 | 50.7 | 4-12 | 22-28 | 27 | 37 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
Portland | 76 | 41.2 | 4-29 | 6-10 | 21 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 19 |