National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers Continue Streak With Thrilling Memphis Victory

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:27 p.m. ET

Fansided, Joe Chambers/FanSided via Rip City Project

Blazers Extend Their Win Streak in Thrilling Victory over Memphis

Portland’s game against Memphis was back and forth until Damian Lillard‘s fourth quarter heroics gave Portland the 112-109 victory. Lillard time was for real, but the win was truly a team effort. The bench gave us 40 points, and the Blazers shot 45.7% from three, which was the deciding factor in an otherwise Memphis heavy box score. This was a much-needed victory because it moves Portland to 21-27 overall and it moves closer to the 8th seed, currently occupied by the Denver Nuggets.

As mentioned, Lillard was impressive. After getting snubbed from the All-Star game, he had a line of 33 points, 5 boards and 6 assists, including 13 straight points for Portland in the fourth quarter. These kind of stats are what the Blazers need from their leader. Along with Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe helped combine (with Lillard) for 74 back court points. It’s a testament to the roster shake up by Terry Stotts, as more ball handling from Evan Turner has opened the floor for our scorers.

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Lillard did however have some uncharacteristic turnovers in the final minutes. He turned the ball over twice to a defender sneaking up behind him. The second steal came with 10 seconds left and the Blazers clinging to their three point lead. A smart foul by Mason Plumlee sent Tony Allen to the free throw line where he clunked two straight free throws. Then, just to make things more exciting, Memphis got the offensive rebound and put up two more shots! The final nail in the coffin didn’t come until a clutch Al-Farouq Aminu block on Vince Carter.

Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 33 points, and at times it seemed the Blazers were trying to hand the game to them. Thankfully, Lillard Time and company held on for one of the best wins to the season.

Next up, the sleeper team nobody is talking about. Hopefully Portland has some game film on Golden State and can carry this momentum to a fourth straight victory.

Next Game:

January 29, 2017

Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers

TV: KGWHD

Radio: Rip City Radio 620

Portland looks to extend win streak to 4 games against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors

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