Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers cool off Grizzlies
Head coach Chauncey Billups and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers talk during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center on December 15, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Steph Chambers / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Damian Lillard scored 32 points and Norman Powell contributed seven of his 28 points on crucial shots down the stretch as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers snapped the Memphis Grizzlies’ five-game winning streak with a 105-100 victory on Sunday.
Powell made the last of his five 3-pointers to give Portland a 97-95 lead with 2:47 remaining off one of Lillard’s five assists. Lillard assisted Powell again on a mid-range jumper with 31.9 seconds left, ultimately putting the game away for the Blazers.
👀 @Dame_Lillard drops 32 PTS to lead the @trailblazers to victory! pic.twitter.com/dN6Mw43TaE
— NBA (@NBA) December 20, 2021
The latter basket gave Portland a four-point lead, as Jusuf Nurkic had tipped-in his own miss at the rim to break a 97-97 tie with 1:14 to go. Nurkic finished with nine points and matched teammate Larry Nance Jr. with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Dillon Brooks led the Grizzlies with a career-high 37 points.
Brooks made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 9.4 seconds remaining, pulling Memphis to within a point. Powell made a pair of foul shots on the other end pushing the lead back to three before Desmond Bane missed a would-be game-tying shot.
Robert Covington came off the bench to add 13 points for Portland, which has earned consecutive wins for the first time since a four-game win streak from Nov. 15-23. Covington also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots to contribute to a critical defensive effort.
The Blazers held Memphis to just 35 of 91 shooting from the floor (38.5 percent), including 9 of 34 (26.5 percent) from 3-point range. Portland used its own defense to compensate for its struggles against the Grizzlies’ defensive intensity.
Memphis made 13 steals, part of Portland’s 20 total turnovers. Kyle Anderson came off the bench to contribute four steals to go with 11 points. Steven Adams had three steals and added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Brooks produced his fifth straight game with at least 22 points. Backcourt mate Bane, who joined Brooks shouldering the scoring load, shot just 1 for 8 from 3-point range and finished with nine points. Memphis had won 10 of 11 games prior to Sunday.
