Portland Trail Blazers (30-33) beat Memphis Grizzlies (23-38) 122-114 on the road on Wednesday, March 4.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Trail Blazers struck first, taking the opening quarter 32-28 and a 4-point lead after one. The Grizzlies pulled even with a 31-27 second quarter, sending the game to halftime tied at 59.
The Trail Blazers won the third 34-30 to turn the game around, taking a 4-point lead into the fourth. The Trail Blazers took the fourth 29-25; the Trail Blazers finished the job for a 122-114 regulation win.
What decided it
The Trail Blazers grabbed 44.4% of their own misses, while the Grizzlies recovered 28.3%. The Trail Blazers got more from their shots, finishing at 58.4% effective field-goal shooting compared with 52.9% for the Grizzlies. The second chances kept adding up.
The Grizzlies did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 25.3 against 11.6. The Trail Blazers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 102 possessions per team, the Trail Blazers produced 119.4 points per 100 possessions to 111.5 for the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 37-20.
Who made the difference
Jrue Holiday was the game's biggest individual force for POR: 35 pts, 5 reb, 11 ast on 13-19 shooting. His Game Score of 34.5 led everyone. His team was +10 with him on the floor.
Jaylen Wells led the Grizzlies with 24 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast on 8-15 shooting, good for a 18.4 Game Score.
Jrue Holiday (35 pts, 5 reb, 11 ast) and Robert Williams III (20 pts, 11 reb, 0 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 41% for the Trail Blazers.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, the series is even.
The Trail Blazers are now 30-33, and the Grizzlies are 23-38. The Trail Blazers last five before this game: W-L-W-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.