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 "We let a wonderful opportunity slip by," Grizzlies veteran swingman
Vince Carter said.
In Game 6, however, the Trail Blazers never led in the second half.
Still, they wouldn't go quietly. The score was tied 72-72 with nine
minutes to play. A short time later, Memphis went on a 13-3 run to
go up 10, and the Grizzlies hung on for a series-clinching, 99-93
victory Wednesday at FedExForum.
"We got stops," said Grizzlies forward Jeff Green, who scored five
of his 10 points in the fourth-quarter run, and more important,
helped slow down CJ McCollum. The Portland reserve guard had a
career night with 33 points that included 7-for-11 shooting from
3-point range and 16 points in the third quarter.
"CJ was terrific," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "He and Meyers
(Leonard) both, in these last two games, showed what they can do."
Leonard, a reserve forward, scored nine points on 3-for-5 shooting
from 3-point range, but nothing the Trail Blazers did was enough to
overcome the Grizzlies' trademark work in the paint.
Memphis center Marc Gasol scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds,
and power forward Zach Randolph finished with 16 points and eight
rebounds.
"Marc, Zach, they pounded it," Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said.
The fifth-seeded Grizzlies will meet the top-seeded Golden State
Warriors in the conference semifinals beginning Sunday afternoon in
Oakland, Calif.
Memphis played the last two games of the first-round series without
point guard Mike Conley, who sustained facial fractures near his
left eye during Game 3 and underwent surgery.
Conley's absence changed the Blazers' strategy.
"We went under pick-and-rolls a lot more," Stotts said. "Mike is
such a threat. You really can't go under him."
Leading by seven at halftime, the Grizzlies opened the second half
with a 6-0 run. Portland came back as McCollum heated up four
3-pointers in the third quarter, and Memphis led just 68-66 going
into the final frame.
"Just trying to be aggressive," McCollum said. "Obviously, facing
elimination, you want to leave it all out there on the court. Once I
saw the ball go in a couple of times, I was comfortable shooting
some threes and trying to change the game."
The score was 76-75 Grizzlies with 7:28 to go, but Memphis went on a
9-0 run to go up by 10 on a jump shot by Randolph with 3:27 left.
Memphis guard Courtney Lee scored 20 points, and swingman Tony Allen
contributed eight points, seven rebounds, five steals, four assists
and two blocks. Carter chipped in nine points and five rebounds.
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"Everybody has to do everything," Carter said. "That's what it takes
for a closeout game."
The Blazers didn't get enough from their All-Stars in Game 5.
Point guard Damian Lillard shot 1-for-8 from 3-point range and
8-for-19 overall while committing six turnovers and scoring 22
points. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge went 5-for-18 while scoring just
14 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds in what could have been his
last game as a Blazer; he will be a free agent this summer.
The Trail Blazers shot 40.2 percent (33-for-82) from the floor,
while Memphis shot 41.6 percent (37-for-89). The Grizzlies were just
1-for-14 (7.1 percent) from 3-point range, but they dominated the
boards 56-38. Portland hit 13 of 33 3-point tries (39.4 percent).
The Grizzlies, without Conley, will be heavy underdogs against the
Warriors -- at least according to the talking heads on television.
"We don't pay attention to them," Lee said. "It's their job to talk
about us. We don't talk about them."
NOTES: Memphis PG Mike Conley, who had surgery to repair a facial
fracture near his left eye, was out for Games 4 and 5, and the
timetable for his return is an open question. Nick Calathes again
replaced him in the lineup, and he finished with six points and four
assists. ... Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard scored a series-high 32
points in Game 4, and Portland coach Terry Stotts believed improved
shooting and Conley's absence were both factors. "He didn't shoot
the ball well the first two games," Stotts said. "That was a little
bit of an aberration. I do think things have kind of come back to
the norm." ... According to data from SportVU, Portland F LaMarcus
Aldridge scored eight points and had four offensive rebounds in the
head-to-head matchup with Memphis F Zach Randolph in 7:39 of time in
Game 4, but Aldridge shot just 3-for-11 from the floor with 16
touches when facing Randolph.
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