Court Vision: Grizzlies dominate Blazers in Game 1 behind Udrih, defense
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- One mascot put a former mascot through a table, as the Grizzlies were putting the Trail Blazers through a proverbial table of their own.
The Grizzlies led wire-to-wire in beating the Trail Blazers 100-86 in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series wire-to-wire and were up by as many as 29.
Here are three observations from Memphis' win:
While much of the national media oohed and aahed over what Grizzlies backup point guard Beno Udrih did in the first half, it really came as little surprise.
Udrih came into the night with a .487 field goal percentage, the same as Zach Randolph and topped among the starters only by Marc Gasol (.494).
The ovation on Udrih's first-half trip back to the bench was matched only by the awaited return of injured forward Tony Allen. It came after Udrih led the first-half pull-away with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a 3-pointer. He added three rebounds and three assists in the assault and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
"I just tried to go out there and be aggressive," Udrih said. "Kosta was setting good screens for me."
"Thank you," Kosta Koufos said from his next-door locker.
"You're welcome," Udrih replied. "I got to my sweet spot and knocked down a couple of shots in the beginning."
Udrih came in with 3:48 left in the first quarter with Memphis leading 12-9. When he left with 7:31 left in the half, the Grizzlies led 38-22.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger took it past the offense.
"Beno Udrih was sensational, having whatever, 20," Joerger said. "But he did a good job staying in front of (Damian) Lillard and (CJ McCollum).
And if you want to assume Udrih won't have another night like that, it wasn't his first time to torch the Blazers. On Jan. 17, Udrih was 7-for-7 against them and is now shooting 56 percent in 17.5 minutes per game in four against Portland this season.
Starting point guard Mike Conley returned after missing four games with a foot strain. Admittedly not 100 percent just yet, Udrih's production ate up minutes Conley needed on the bench.
Conley's not-100-percent foot looked really good on whatever percent it was as he played 23:48 and scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
He turned the ball over on Memphis' first possession, seemingly just to get that out of the way, his first game since April 8.
His personal status update went from saying it felt like he was walking on "a golf ball," to Sunday, "a small gumball."
"I felt like I was a step slow there a couple times," Conley said, "but to get some action and play extended minutes was pretty good. I'm happy I didn't have to play so long tonight.
"The pain got tolerable. It's at a level where it's tolerable and I'm able to move and do things at a better, more efficient rate. I can play through it."
Conley scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in the third quarter to help the Grizzlies keep the momentum they carried to the half.
It is a good assumption that after the season, we'll all find out Conley has fought through a plethora of injuries no one knew about. But Sunday, he drove, he scooped ... he flexed? After an and-1 in the first half, Conley screamed exactly that and flexed both arms, not the typical Conley persona. That's Allen's thing.
"Getting involved with the crowd and it's got something to do with TA, too," Conley said. "It's a team thing now. We're just having fun and that's a good sign."
Grizz, the Grizzlies' mascot, is no stranger to the spotlight. From wrestling antics to slapping Clippers fans to slamming cakes in the faces of pretend opposing fans, he spares no expense in Memphis' in-game entertainment budget.
His antics Wednesday perfectly personified his team. When secondary mascot Natch heel-turned and hit Grizz with a chair, then revealed his Blazers jersey, it set up Grizz leaping from a 10-foot ladder and bashing Natch through a table.
That's what Memphis did to Portland in Game 1. The Blazers shot 33.7 percent, a bulk of that coming from the combined 18-for-55 from LaMarcus Aldridge and Lillard. Aaron Afflalo (shoulder) did not play.
The Grizzlies scored 20 points off 13 Portland turnovers -- Memphis had only eight. Memphis dominated the paint, 52-38 and had nine more fastbreak points. Gasol (15/11) and Randolph (16/11) had double-doubles.
"That's where we get our notoriety, playing defense," Allen said. "We're going to have to keep that up, all the way throughout the series, because that team is not going to lay down."
Only in Memphis is wrestling the centerpiece at the NBA game and only in Memphis can teams get away with the wrestling/rap antics the Grizzlies get away with. But when successful, that's how the Grizzlies play, bigger and badder â on both ends.
19 -- The Grizzlies led by 19 at the half, the largest halftime lead of a playoff game in franchise history. The 24-point lead after three was also the largest playoff lead after a third quarter.
21 -- The 18,111 fans inside FedExForum made up the 21st consecutive playoff sellout.
