Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers clawed their way back to respectability by finishing the year with a 41-41 record. This season, with 15 games remaining, Nate McMillan’s upstart squad has already eclipsed last year’s win total with a 103-92 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Arena. The win, Portland’s first during a five game road trip, assured the Trail Blazers a winning season for the first time in six years.
“It’s good to get to 42 (wins) but that’s not our goal,” said Nate McMillan. “The goal is to get to the playoffs. These guys have done a really good job.”
LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the way for Portland with 22 points and eight rebounds, did most of his damage early, making seven of his first eight shots on the way to a 15 point first quarter.
“We didn’t force it to (Aldridge),” said McMillan “It was just within a flow of the offense. When we get that type of movement, we have guys who can shoot the ball and it just happened to be the guy who was receiving it a lot. He knocked down his shots and had a hot start.”
Brandon Roy finished with 20 points and nine assists to lead a well-rounded Trail Blazers performance. Travis Outlaw added 18 points and Joel Przybilla had 13 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.
O.J. Mayo scored 21 points and handed out six assists to lead Memphis, which lost its 13 game in the last 15. Mike Conley had 20 points, and Rudy Gay score 17 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Hakim Warrick finished with 15 points on 7-of-10 from the floor.
Memphis was still within seven early in the fourth quarter, but Portland methodically extended the lead. Outlaw's 3-pointer, which he followed with a pair of free throws on the next possession, gave the Trail Blazers a 94-77 lead with 5:16 left.
The Trail Blazers eventually would have an 18-point advantage. Memphis never led.
Portland built an early double-digit lead hitting nine of its first 10 shots in the game. When the Trail Blazers finally missed their second shot, it only delayed the scoring as Przybilla grabbed the offensive rebound for a dunk. The sequence dropped Portland's shooting to 83 percent.
Portland would end the night shooting 47 percent, compared to 40 percent for Memphis.
With the win, the Trail Blazers keep pace in an incredibly tight Western Conference playoff race. Portland sits a half game behind the Denver Nuggets for the top spot in the Northwest Division and a game ahead of the Utah Jazz for the third spot, making this current road trip crucial going into the final 15 games of the season.
“We’re trying to make the playoffs and win our division, which was one of our goals,” said Przybilla. “We’re fighting for it right now. We took care of Memphis tonight and we have Indiana on Wednesday. That’s our focus for tomorrow, getting ready for Indiana.”
That game against the Pacers is scheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m.
