tlongII
01-05-2013, 11:38 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2013/01/clutch_blazers_do_it_again_win_another_nail-biter.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/oregonian/photo/2013/01/12076110-large.jpg
Wesley Matthews scored a team-high 21 points Friday night against the Grizzlies
MEMPHIS — As this surprisingly successful Trail Blazers season chugs along and the victories continue to accumulate, an unexpected trait is emerging within a franchise that is supposed to be young and rebuilding.
These baby Blazers sure are clutch.
The Blazers eked out yet another nail-biting win Friday night at FedExForum, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 86-84 in a gritty, grinding slugfest before 15,823.
With the win, the Blazers improved to 8-2 in games decided by six or fewer points. Add that to the fact that they’re 4-0 in overtime games and 13-1 when leading or tied heading into the fourth quarter and the Blazers are developing a knack for excelling in pressure-packed, do-or-die situations.
“When we are in close games, I do believe ... there’s a belief that we’re going to find a way to win the game,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “Not to say that we’re going to win all of them, but the belief is certainly there.”
Wesley Matthews scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 11 rebounds, but the Blazers’ narrow escape Friday was courtesy of defensive dominance down the stretch. The Grizzlies did not make a field goal over the final 3 minutes, 10 seconds as the Blazers’ stingy defense forced them into misses on their final nine attempts.
The most harrowing and important of the misses came in the closing seconds, when the Grizzlies had three opportunities to win the game in what was a wild finish. With the Blazers leading 85-84, Rudy Gay launched a 12-foot turnaround jumper under duress with 16.9 seconds left but missed. Marc Gasol snared the rebound and worked it to Mike Conley, who drove the lane and missed a contested layup.
Nicolas Batum wrestled away the rebound for the Blazers along the baseline and — with Stotts screaming for a timeout from the bench — was forced out of desperation to throw the ball off Conley’s leg as he was falling out of bounds. Stotts didn’t get his timeout, but the Blazers were awarded the ball with 4.8 seconds left.
They worked it to Aldridge out of an inbound play and he was fouled with 2.1 seconds left. But he only made one of two free throws and the Grizzlies had one final chance to win or force overtime.
The Grizzlies set up a play for Gay out of a timeout, and, with Batum attached to his hip, Gay sprinted left across the middle of the court and launched a 22-foot pull-up jumper. Brick. Game over.
The dramatic defensive stands by the Blazers epitomized their stout defensive play during the pivotal fourth quarter. Memphis scored just 12 points, made just 5 of 22 field goals and committed four turnovers in the fourth. And throughout the solid stretch, virtually every Blazers player did something to fuel the run.
“I thought we played very good team defense,” Aldridge said. “I thought we played tendencies very well down the stretch. We had talked about it all game, about knowing what (Memphis) wanted to do, and I thought down the stretch, we guarded those tendencies.”
Case in point: The final play. Batum had been studying video of Gay’s tendencies since the Blazers arrived into Memphis on Thursday, and he noticed that Gay was nearly unstoppable in clutch situations when he went right before elevating to shoot. So as Batum steadied himself for the final defensive stand, he knew he had to do everything he could to force Gay left and away from his bread-and-butter move.
“I knew if he goes right, he’s going to make it,” Batum said. “In the videos, when he got the last shot, he goes right and he make it almost every time. So I just tried to push him left to have a better chance for him to miss. He’s a great player, so if he makes it, he makes it.”
But he didn’t. And the Blazers (17-15) pulled off another shocker. It was their ninth win in the last 12 games and their second in three games of a four-game trip. A team that couldn’t buy a win on the road has now defeated the New York Knicks and Grizzlies — teams with combined 26-7 home records — over a four-day span.
JJ Hickson had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Damian Lillard added 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Blazers, who overcame the rugged play of Maurreese Speights (22 points, 13 rebounds) and held Gay (19 points, nine rebounds) to just two points in the second half.
“It was a gritty win,” Stotts said. “Memphis is used to playing these types of games. We haven’t. And to win a game in that style says a lot about our growth as a team.”
Notes: The game featured 21 lead changes and nine ties. ... Former Blazers forward Zach Randolph was a late scratch because of flu-like symptoms. ... Memphis dropped to 20-10 on the season. ... Batum (417) moved past Steve Blake (415) and into fifth place on the Blazers’ all-time three-point shooting list with three threes against the Grizzlies.
http://media.oregonlive.com/oregonian/photo/2013/01/12076110-large.jpg
Wesley Matthews scored a team-high 21 points Friday night against the Grizzlies
MEMPHIS — As this surprisingly successful Trail Blazers season chugs along and the victories continue to accumulate, an unexpected trait is emerging within a franchise that is supposed to be young and rebuilding.
These baby Blazers sure are clutch.
The Blazers eked out yet another nail-biting win Friday night at FedExForum, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 86-84 in a gritty, grinding slugfest before 15,823.
With the win, the Blazers improved to 8-2 in games decided by six or fewer points. Add that to the fact that they’re 4-0 in overtime games and 13-1 when leading or tied heading into the fourth quarter and the Blazers are developing a knack for excelling in pressure-packed, do-or-die situations.
“When we are in close games, I do believe ... there’s a belief that we’re going to find a way to win the game,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “Not to say that we’re going to win all of them, but the belief is certainly there.”
Wesley Matthews scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 11 rebounds, but the Blazers’ narrow escape Friday was courtesy of defensive dominance down the stretch. The Grizzlies did not make a field goal over the final 3 minutes, 10 seconds as the Blazers’ stingy defense forced them into misses on their final nine attempts.
The most harrowing and important of the misses came in the closing seconds, when the Grizzlies had three opportunities to win the game in what was a wild finish. With the Blazers leading 85-84, Rudy Gay launched a 12-foot turnaround jumper under duress with 16.9 seconds left but missed. Marc Gasol snared the rebound and worked it to Mike Conley, who drove the lane and missed a contested layup.
Nicolas Batum wrestled away the rebound for the Blazers along the baseline and — with Stotts screaming for a timeout from the bench — was forced out of desperation to throw the ball off Conley’s leg as he was falling out of bounds. Stotts didn’t get his timeout, but the Blazers were awarded the ball with 4.8 seconds left.
They worked it to Aldridge out of an inbound play and he was fouled with 2.1 seconds left. But he only made one of two free throws and the Grizzlies had one final chance to win or force overtime.
The Grizzlies set up a play for Gay out of a timeout, and, with Batum attached to his hip, Gay sprinted left across the middle of the court and launched a 22-foot pull-up jumper. Brick. Game over.
The dramatic defensive stands by the Blazers epitomized their stout defensive play during the pivotal fourth quarter. Memphis scored just 12 points, made just 5 of 22 field goals and committed four turnovers in the fourth. And throughout the solid stretch, virtually every Blazers player did something to fuel the run.
“I thought we played very good team defense,” Aldridge said. “I thought we played tendencies very well down the stretch. We had talked about it all game, about knowing what (Memphis) wanted to do, and I thought down the stretch, we guarded those tendencies.”
Case in point: The final play. Batum had been studying video of Gay’s tendencies since the Blazers arrived into Memphis on Thursday, and he noticed that Gay was nearly unstoppable in clutch situations when he went right before elevating to shoot. So as Batum steadied himself for the final defensive stand, he knew he had to do everything he could to force Gay left and away from his bread-and-butter move.
“I knew if he goes right, he’s going to make it,” Batum said. “In the videos, when he got the last shot, he goes right and he make it almost every time. So I just tried to push him left to have a better chance for him to miss. He’s a great player, so if he makes it, he makes it.”
But he didn’t. And the Blazers (17-15) pulled off another shocker. It was their ninth win in the last 12 games and their second in three games of a four-game trip. A team that couldn’t buy a win on the road has now defeated the New York Knicks and Grizzlies — teams with combined 26-7 home records — over a four-day span.
JJ Hickson had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Damian Lillard added 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Blazers, who overcame the rugged play of Maurreese Speights (22 points, 13 rebounds) and held Gay (19 points, nine rebounds) to just two points in the second half.
“It was a gritty win,” Stotts said. “Memphis is used to playing these types of games. We haven’t. And to win a game in that style says a lot about our growth as a team.”
Notes: The game featured 21 lead changes and nine ties. ... Former Blazers forward Zach Randolph was a late scratch because of flu-like symptoms. ... Memphis dropped to 20-10 on the season. ... Batum (417) moved past Steve Blake (415) and into fifth place on the Blazers’ all-time three-point shooting list with three threes against the Grizzlies.