Grizzlies Sweep Trailblazers
The Memphuis Grizzlies completed the regular season series against the Portland Trailblazers with a sweep in a 97-86 victory Saturday night on Beale Street.
Five Grizzlies scored in double figures. Jeff Green led the team in scoring with 23 points and he grabbed nine rebounds. Mike Conley contributed 21 more points, two rebounds and nine assists. Zach Randolph added 17 pounds, four rebounds, and three assists. Marc Gasol was just shy of a double double with 13 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Tony Allen proves he belongs on the first team with his second double double of the season with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and six steals.
Memphis outshot the Trail Blazers at three-point range, shooting .611 on 11-of-18, tying its season high on three-point field goals made. The Grizzlies also improved to 37-9 when holding their opponents to under 100 points. With the score at 53-44, Memphis opened the third quarter on a 18-9 run led by a barrage of four three-point shots by Jeff Green to stretch the lead to 71-53, its largest lead of the game.
Zach Randolph Said, “We just have to come and play like that against a playoff team or a team that isn’t making the playoffs. We have to come out with the same drive. It’s playoff time. We are getting into our rhythm of things. We have to take it one game at a time.”
Coach Joerger said, “It was a good weekend for us. We knew tonight we were going to take some hits and go through some adversity. We kept our heads up and we kept cheering for each other, pushing each other. The ball didn’t go in a lot it seemed like for us tonight. I thought we got some outstanding effort performances from some guys. We saw some big numbers from Jeff (Green) who I almost ran into the ground tonight. He did a great job guarding multiple people, a couple threes he hit were fantastic. But Mike Conley was big for us. He got into (Damian) Lillard and got over screens. The bigs did a great job in the pick-and-rolls trying to show him crowds. He’s a good player and with (LaMarcus) Aldridge not playing the second half sometimes, mentally, you can give yourself a rest. Our guys were focused. I was proud of them, I was proud of the attitude and energy and enthusiasm we came out with. We came out and played really hard and we had a good weekend. It was a good two-game sweep (of the back to back).”
The Grizzlies next game is Monday night in New York against the Knicks. The team returns home on Wednesday to host the Cleveland Cavaliers.