MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Dalano Banton had a season-high 19 points, Jabari Walker also had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers rolled to a 122-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in nine games on Friday night.Duop Reath added 18 points for the Trail Blazers, who led the game for the second time against a Western Conference opponent. Kris Murray added 14 for Portland, which is now 2-19 on the road against the West.”We did it together. It’s just good to get that monkey off our backs,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. losing streak “We played so hard. I think we played well. We just couldn’t win for a long time.”.
Portland players expressed relief at snapping the losing streak and finally enjoying postseason play. Several credited the win with increased communication on both ends of the floor. It started with a walk earlier Friday.”We stopped the bleeding and we did it right,” said Walker, the Colorado sophomore. “We were all happy and smiling, so it felt really good. Hopefully we can build on that.”The match was the teams’ first against each other. Or crazy.
While celebrating the Trail Blazers, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins was disappointed with his team’s performance. He had very little positive to say about any aspect of the game. He began his postgame remarks by saying, “It’s embarrassing.””They basically scored 80 points on free throws. It’s a lot to clean up,”
Jenkins said. – They played very well and we didn’t have it. Played bad.”Jake LaRavia led Memphis with a career-high 21 points. Lamar Stevens had 19 points and GG Jackson finished with 11 as the Grizzlies lost their third straight and 12th in their last 14 games. Jordan Goodwin was the best . . . Memphis’ only double-digit starter with 10 points despite going 4-13 from the field.It was LaRavia’s fourth game in 17 games with a sprained left ankle. He missed 10 games earlier this season. Left strained . eye. His previous career high was 13 points against Sacramento last season.”I thought (teammates) found me
because of my good looks and some of them went down,” LaRavia said. “I had a good game, but it doesn’t matter when you’re down 30. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do as a team.”Portland opened the second half with 11. . 4 to run their first double-digit lead of the game and then extending it to 16 points near the midway point of the third quarter. Reath and Murray each had nine points as Portland took the lead.The Trail Blazers shot 79% in the third quarter, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. .Both teams are at the bottom of the Western Conference and dealing with injuries that have affected their rosters. And their plate.Moses Brown, who hasn’t played since undergoing left wrist surgery on Jan. 9, returned and the
Trail Blazers put the 7-foot center ahead of the second quarter. He scored seven points and hit all three of his shots.”I thought Moses’ minutes were huge for us,” Billups said.Neither team could open a double-digit lead in the first half. both shot under 45%. Memphis was hampered by a dozen first-half turnovers that helped Portland take a 51-45 lead.But the second half was the difference for Portland, as it outscored the Grizzlies 71-47 over the final two frames.”It all came together,” Murray said. “Offensively we were very good. We shared the ball very well. Defensively, I think we played a perfect game and didn’t let them run.”.
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