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Blazers fall at Memphis, 86-73

Former Blazer leads Grizzlies to win

The Columbian
Published: December 14, 2010, 12:00am

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Blazers at Mavericks, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

TV: ESPN (cable Channel 35) and CSN (cable Channel 37). Radio: FM 95.5

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Zach Randolph had 25 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their third straight win, 86-73 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

The victory snapped an eight-game winning streak for Portland in Memphis. The Grizzlies hadn’t won a home game in the series in almost five years.

Rudy Gay added 16 points, reserve O.J. Mayo had 14 and Mike Conley 11 for the Grizzlies.

Wesley Matthews led the Trail Blazers with 18 points, while Andre Miller had 14 points and nine assists. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 13 points for Portland, which lost its second straight after a four-game winning streak.

NEXT GAME

Blazers at Mavericks, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

TV: ESPN (cable Channel 35) and CSN (cable Channel 37). Radio: FM 95.5

Brandon Roy, who entered the game as the Trail Blazers’ leading scorer, was ineffective on a bum left knee he tweaked in Sunday’s loss at San Antonio. Roy was 3 of 16 from the field and scored 7 points.

The Trail Blazers were limited to only nine points in the fourth quarter as Memphis rebuilt the advantage to double digits. It was the lowest-scoring quarter of the season for Portland, which put up a season low point total for the second straight game.

Portland had only 78 points in Sunday’s loss to San Antonio.

Both teams struggled early from the field, but Memphis got enough of a rhythm to push the lead to 11 early in the second quarter.

Generally, though, it was a half with no flow. A sparse crowd in the FedExForum (announced at 10,467) resulted in little energy in the building.

The biggest excitement came on Mayo’s 3-pointer at the horn to give Memphis a 49-42 lead at the break.

The Grizzlies managed 12 points each from Gay and Randolph, while Aldridge had all 13 of his points for the Trail Blazers by intermission.

Portland erased the halftime advantage, opening the third quarter with a 13-4 run. But back-to-back baskets from Memphis, including another 3-pointer from Mayo, stopped the rally.

The Trail Blazers’ swatting, aggressive defense began paying dividends as Memphis committed a half dozen turnovers in the third and the Grizzlies continued to misfire from the field.

That allowed Portland to hold Memphis to only 12 points in the quarter and the Trail Blazers carried a 64-61 lead into the final period.

But Memphis scored eight unanswered points to open the fourth as they began pushing the ball inside to Randolph. The Grizzlies eventually rebuilt the lead to double digits when Greivis Vasquez hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock running out with just over 7 minutes left.

Notes: Matthews started his first game of the season the last time Portland was in Memphis on Nov. 16, and scored a career-high 30 points. Entering Monday night’s game, he was averaging 20.3 points in the 11 games he has started. … Monday’s game was the third in a four-game road trip for Portland. … Gay’s five rebounds moved him past Shane Battier for sixth place on the Grizzlies’ franchise list. … Randolph has led Memphis in rebounding in 14 of the last 15 games. … The Grizzlies’ last home win in the series was Dec. 21, 2005.

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