Final box score (via nba.com):
Final: Memphis Grizzlies 97, Portland Trail Blazers 80.
Q4 (0:29): Vince Carter hits a triple to give Memphis a 97-80 lead. Both teams have put in their garbage time line-ups.
Q4 (0:47): Nic Batum cannot buy a bucket. He's shooting 5-16 and he's had some really bad misses. Memphis leads, 94-79.
Q4 (2:31): A 'TONY TONY TONY" chant has broken out for Tony Allen.
Q4 (4:21): Damian Lillard makes an absurd triple and that gives him 14 points for the night. Memphis, 90-78.
Q4 (4:39): Mike Conley sneaks in a layup and Memphis leads 90-75. Portland's hopes are dwingling with every tick of the game clock.
Q4 (6:05): Robin Lopez and all his strength isn't enough to stop Marc Gasol from scoring. What a finish! Memphis, 86-73.
Q4 (7:10): Some good ball movent by Portland leads to a corner 3 for Nic Batum. Memphis, 82-73.
Q4 (7:27): I wouldn't bet on Steve Blake having much success guarding a Jeff Green post up. The Dirk Nowitzki fadeaway from 18-feet out was still very impressive, though. Memphis, 82-70.
Q4 (8:27): Vince Carter makes a big triple but Steve Blake finds Meyers Leonard for the lob on the other end. Memphis leads 80-70.
Q4 (9:54): And basketball, of course, proves me wrong as Meyers Leonard makes his second triple of the game. Grizzlies lead 77-68.
Q4 (10:16): Portland just can't bring this game within single digits. Memphis is firmly in control up, 77-65.
End of Q1: Memphis Grizzlies 73, Portland Trail Blazers 60.
Q3 (1:20): Meyers Leonard makes a triple to cut the Grizzlies' lead to 13 (71-58). I will never get used to Leonard stretching the floor.
LaMarcus Aldridge is leading all scorer with 21 points but the Trail Blazers still trail by 15. Portland's lack of depth is killing them.
Q3 (2:55): Zach Randolph is banging down low. He gets the hook shot to go. It's hard to imagine Aldridge being able to handle Randolph dow low. Memphis, 70-55.
Q3 (5:22): Marc Gasol makes a hook shot over Joel Freeland and the Grizzlies take their biggest lead of the game. Memphis, 66-51.
Q3 (5:59): Courtney Lee pump fakes Damian Lillard into another dimension and knocks down the mid-range jumper. Memphis, 64-51.
Q3 (6:25): Randolph gets two for the Grizzlies and Lee gets them two more. Memphis, 62-49.
Q3 (7:30): Damian Lillard misses a triple but Batum is able to clean it up. Memphis, 58-49.
Q3 (8:59): A defensive 3-second violation is called on the Trail Blazers but Courtney Lee can't make the free throw. No score change.
Q3 (9: 21): Batum and Allen trade layups (that might become a theme in this game). Memphis, 56-45.
Q3 (10:41): Zach Randolph gets his first point of the game and Grizzlies lead 52-43.
Q3 (11:09): LaMarcus Aldridge gets the second half going with a midrange jumper and Robin Lopez scores on the next play. Memphis 50-43.
Halftime box score (via nba.com):
Halftime: Memphis Grizzlies 50, Portland Trail Blazers 39.
Q2 (1:03): Mike Conley makes a triple and the Grizzlies are now 5-8 from deep. Memphis, 48-37.
Q2 (1:43): So this Tony Allen guy is pretty good at that defense thing. Memphis, 45-35.
Q2 (2:38): Lillard and Conley trade lay ups again. Memphis, 45-33.
Q2 (3:46): Damian Lillard and Mike Conley trade lay ups and Memphis is on a 16-4 run. Memphis, 41-29.
Q2 (4:54): Vince Carter makes a triple and the Grizzlies lead by double digits. Memphis, 39-27.
Q2 (5:34): I think it's safe to say that Portland is missing Wesley Matthews.. And Arron Afflalo.. And Dorrell Wright.. And Chris Kaman. The Portland Injury Bug lives on.
Q2 (6:08): Jeff Green hits a triple and Portland is getting blazed. Memphis, 34-25.
Q2 (7:17): Beno Udrih scores on consecutive possessions and Memphis leads 31-27.
Q2 (9:07): Tony Allen finds Beno Udrih for the mid-range jumper--something he's pretty good at--and the Grizzlies take a 27-25 lead, their first since they lead 2-0 early in the game.
Q2 (9:40): Kosta Koufas has cleaned up two shots since checking in. Tie game, 25-25.
Q2 (11:18): Surprise, surprise--the second quarter begins with an Aldridge bucket. Jeff Green replies with a long jumper. Portland, 23-21.
End of Q1: Trail Blazers 21, Grizzlies 19. Meyers Leonard's triple to end the quarter was waved off as it was still in his hands when the buzzer sounded. It was still very nice even after some bounces and a roll.
Q1 (0:59): Courtney Lee makes a long 2-pointer to beat the shot clock. Portland, 21-19.
Q1 (2:00): Beno Udrih scores but he wouldn't have that opportunity if he didn't rebound his first miss in that play. That is a very good, veteran play--the kind that helps teams win games. Portland, 21 17.
Q1 (3:04): All five Trail Blazers starters have scored in this game. Only three Grizzlies players have scored: Gasol, Conley and Lee.
Q1 (3:04): Apparently CJ McCollum has post moves. It might be more surprising than the first time I ever saw Meyers Leonard shoot a three. Portland, 21-15.
Q1 (4:14): Meyers Leonard and CJ McCollum have checked in for the Trail Blazers. Jeff Green has also checked in.
Q1 (4:48): Lamarcus Aldridge has made 4 of his first 5 shots. He now has 9 points and the Trail Blazers lead, 18-12.
Q1 (6:57): Jump ball violation on Courtney Lee. That doesn't happen very often. Portland, 12-7.
Q1 (7:57): After two straight turnovers by the Trail Blazers, Mike Conley makes a 3-pointer. Portland, 10-7.
Q1 (9:32): Lamarcus Aldridge makes a triple and Robin Lopez scores down lown and the Trail Blazers have a 10-2 lead.
Q1 (10:44): Allen Crabbe has the Trail Blazers' first 5 points. Portland, 5-0.
Q1 (11:45): The Grizzlies win the tip and the game is underway! Mike Conley scores the first points of the game. Memphis, 2-0.
It's gametime, NBA fans!
15 more minutes!
Prepare yourselves, Game 2 of Portland Trailblazers - Memphis Grizzlies is only 30 minutes away!
Arron Afflalo and Chris Kaman are OUT for tonight's game.
While you wait, make sure you check out VAVEL_USA's Brooklyn Nets - Atlanta Hawks Live Updates and 2015 NBA Scores in Game 2.
"He's my little man," Gasol said. "He's a great player, great guy. I knew he wasn't going to miss a playoff game. I can only ask him to give me whatever he has, and he's done it. And I'm going to ask the same next game."
Conley is key for the Grizzlies. Memphis typically works off their big men, but Conley is their best ball handler and an incredibly efficient point guard. He is also one of their better perimeter defenders.
For the Grizzlies, Mike Conley is probable to play with a right foot sprain. "It's going to flare up no matter what I do," Conley said. "I just go out there and play as if I'm not injured and see how much I can do and what I can do to help the team and the following day is just rehab and recover."
Going into Game 2, the Blazers will have to limit the Grizzlies paint scoring, which is easier said than done. However, Portland was flat out soft and settled for too many outside shots. In fact, the Blazers shot 26 three-pointers, while the Grizzlies only attempted nine, meaning Memphis focused on getting higher percentage shots.
"I think a good wakeup call for us," Aldridge said. "But definitely tonight they manhandled us."
In order to do that, they will have to match the physicality of the Grizzlies. Despite only losing by 14, the final score did not indicate how lopsided Game 1 really was. The Grizzlies led by as much as 29 and completely shut down the Blazers offense.
The Blazers starters were a combined minus-71 in Game 1. That is incredibly inexcusable for a team that relies heavily on their starters night in and night out. This team will have to find its rhythm soon, otherwise they could face early elimination.
The Grizzlies second unit outscored Portland's, 33-21. In all fairness, the Blazers are lacking depth due to injuries. They were with Wesley Matthews, Dorell Wright, and Arron Afflalo. Afflalo is considered questionable for tonight's game. If he continues to sit, C.J. McCollum, who only scored two points on 1 of 8 shooting on Sunday, will get the start again.
"He did a little bit of everything," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Udrih. "He's an NBA player. He's been here a long time, and he's effective."
"I was wide open," Udrih said after the contest. "Shots like that I've got to take. I knocked down and then two more times I came out of the screen and knocked them down again. I was just being aggressive."
Though, it was Beno Udrih who led all scorers for Memphis with 20 points off the bench in 24 minutes. He shot 9 of 14 from the field and collected seven rebounds and seven assists while committing zero turnovers, possibly the most efficient game of his career.
Surprisingly, the Blazers out-rebounded the Grizzlies, 56-48, but they were outscored in the paint, 52-38. The Grizzlies had excellent balance in their starting lineup. Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing the last four games of the regular season and put in 16 points. Zach Randolph notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Marc Gasol also posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with seven assists and three blocks.
The Grizzlies did, after all, rank second in opponents points per game during the season and 10th in opponents field percentage, holding opposing teams to 95.1 points on 44.2 percent. They are very big and strong inside, which gives many teams problems.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Game 1, but he, too, was extremely inefficient, shooting 13 of 34. In fact, the Blazers shot just 33.7 percent as a team, which is subpar. Credit Memphis' strong, grit-and-grind defense, but the Blazers will have to succumb that and find better looks in Game 2. VAVEL USA's recap of Game 1.
In order for Portland to do that, they will need more production from Damian Lillard. In Game 1, Lillard, who has been clutch for the Blazers since day one, was a non-factor. He put in just 14 points on an abysmal 5 of 21 shooting, which cannot happen if the Blazers are going to steal a game in Memphis.
The Memphis Grizzlies handily took care of the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 to take a 1-0 series lead. Portland will look to steal one on the road tonight to even the series heading back home.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to Game 2's Live of the Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.