MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Zach Randolph’s put-back basket with less than a second left and a season-high 31 points from Marc Gasol led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 101-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Portland had a final shot with 0.6 of a second left, but Al-Farouq Aminu’s 17-footer was short and the Grizzlies snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Trail Blazers lost their fourth straight and haven’t won since a 115-96 victory over Memphis on Nov. 5.
Randolph’s winning basket gave him 15 points for the game. Jeff Green scored 14, while Mike Conley and newcomer Mario Chalmers added 11 points apiece.
C.J. McCollum led Portland with 26 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Aminu had 16 and Allen Crabbe finished with 12, converting all five of his shots from the field.
Portland had erased an 11-point Memphis lead in the final 4:03.
Damian Lillard finished with 11 points for Portland, connecting on 5 of 15 shots in the game. The Portland backcourt of Lillard and McCollum were a combined 12 of 29. They entered the game averaging 47.7 points this season.
Aminu’s 3-pointer from the left sideline with 12.5 seconds left gave Portland a 100-99 lead, setting the stage for Randolph’s winner.
But it took several attempts.
Courtney Lee missed a shot in the corner with time running out, Jeff Green’s tip attempt missed and Randolph grabbed the rebound. But Crabbe blocked his shot.
Randolph got it back for the winner and saved the Grizzlies from blowing an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead.
Memphis led 92-81 with about 4 minutes lef,t when the Trail Blazers went on a 16-5 run fueled by eight points from McCollum. Aminu converted a pair of free throws to tie the game at 97 with 36.3 left.
Green answered with a layup, but Aminu’s 3-pointer with 12.5 seconds left gave Portland a 100-99 lead.
In the third quarter, Memphis ran its lead to double digits with a 16-3 spurt to open the second half, capped by Gasol’s 3-pointer for a 69-55 advantage.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland was without F Meyers Leonard, who injured his left shoulder against the Spurs Wednesday. … Portland has lost eight straight in Memphis, counting regular-season and playoff games. … Lillard’s 11 points marked the first time this season he hasn’t reached 20. … Outrebounded Memphis 43-35, marking the first time this season the Trail Blazers have lost while winning the battle of the boards.
Grizzlies: Avoided their first five-game losing streak since December 2013. … Chalmers, picked up this week in a trade with Miami, saw his first action in Memphis uniform. He got a nice ovation when he entered the game in the first quarter – a tad surprising since Chalmers hit the 3-pointer against the Memphis Tigers to send the 2008 national championship game into overtime, eventually won by Kansas.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers travel to Charlotte on Sunday
