The battle for fourth and fifth place in the Western Conference playoffs is between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers. In the regular season, the Grizzlies swept the Trail Blazers in 4 games. In the playoffs, the Grizzlies will definitely have a big psychological advantage.
For the Trail Blazers, Aaron Afflalo missed the first game due to shoulder discomfort, Dorell Wright fractured his fourth metacarpal and was retired for the regular season, and Wesley Matthews tore his left heel and was retired for the season.
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For the Grizzlies, Conley missed the last four regular season games due to a strained left foot. He is able to play in this game.
Obviously, the Grizzlies have the advantage in terms of lineup, and the Trail Blazers are much more seriously affected by injuries.
The Grizzlies sent Jeff Green into the starting lineup, Tony Allen returned to the bench, and Afflalo's injury allowed McCollum to join the starting lineup to partner with Lillard - he only started 2 times in the regular season.
This time, the Blazers lost all games.
Unsurprisingly, the Grizzlies once again turned this game into a complete defeat!
The Grizzlies led by 24 points in three quarters, and the fourth quarter turned into garbage time. They finally defeated the Trail Blazers with a score of 100-86 and got off to a good start.
The Grizzlies were very balanced. The outstanding performer was Udrih, who scored 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Mike Conley had 16 points and 1 assist. Marc Gasol had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Zach
-Randolph had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Green had 11 points and 6 rebounds.
For the Trail Blazers, Aldridge took 34 shots, becoming the man who took the most shots against the Grizzlies in the playoffs. He scored 32 points and 14 rebounds. Damian Lillard missed all of his first 6 shots.
It wasn't until the middle of the second quarter that a layup broke the scoring drought. In the end, he scored 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Nicolas Batum had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
In the second game, the Trail Blazers started with Crabbe, replacing McCollum, while the Grizzlies also made a change, replacing Tony Allen as the starter, replacing Jeff Green.
Obviously, the Grizzlies took Tony Allen to defend McCollum, but they didn't expect the Trail Blazers to change him.
However, this has little impact on the Grizzlies, because Tony Allen has always been the Grizzlies' first choice in the starting lineup. He spends a lot of time cooperating with the starting lineup, and there is no problem of tacit understanding.
Although the Black and White Bears didn't feel good in this game, the huge advantage in the backcourt still allowed the Grizzlies to easily win the game 97-82.
2-0, the Grizzlies defended two home games.
For the Grizzlies, Mike Conley had 18 points and 6 assists, Courtney Lee had 18 points and 2 rebounds, Marc Gasol had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Zach Randolph had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Trail Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Damian Lillard had 18 points and 1 assist.
In the third game, the Grizzlies lost their outstanding backup point guard Udrih, but the Trail Blazers were still at an absolute disadvantage in the first half. Aldridge made only 1 of 10 shots in the half. In the second half, he regained his touch and recovered.
Got the score.
In the last half of the game, Batum and Afflalo scored two three-pointers, and the Trail Blazers once caught up to 3 points. However, Tony Allen succeeded in two counterattacks, and the Grizzlies re-established an 8-point lead. Then the Trail Blazers
After scoring 2 points in a row, the Grizzlies settled the battle with a solid 13 of 14 free throws. In the end, the Grizzlies defeated the Trail Blazers 115-109 and were only one game away from entering the Western Conference semifinals.
For the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol had 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, Courtney Lee had 20 points, 5 rebounds, Zach Randolph had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Mike Conley had 14 points.
4 assists.
For the Trail Blazers, Batum had 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, CJ McCollum had 26 points, 4 rebounds, Damian Lillard had 22 points, 9 assists, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points.
, 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
The fourth game was a battle of honor for the Trail Blazers. Mike Conley missed the game due to injury. Udrih returned, but the Grizzlies still let him play as a substitute. The starting point guard was the little-known Karasis.
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After three consecutive losses, the Trail Blazers started well and led by 7 points at halftime. However, in the third quarter, the Grizzlies beat them 27:13, and the Trail Blazers fell behind by 7 points!
In the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers realized their shame and acted bravely. Lillard and McCollum, the two outsiders, showed their strength and led the team to complete the lead.
However, the Grizzlies played very tenaciously, and they overtook the score again.
At the last moment, the Trail Blazers fell behind by 2 points. Lillard swung past Tony Allen at a 45-degree angle on the left, forced a three-pointer and caused Allen to foul. The score was 3+1, and the Trail Blazers took the lead.
After that, the Grizzlies failed in consecutive attacks, while the Trail Blazers made steady free throws, ultimately retaining the victory.
99-92, the Trail Blazers used a reversal to avoid the embarrassing situation of being swept.
For the Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard had 32 points and 7 assists, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Nicolas Batum had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and CJ McCollum had 18 points and 5 assists.
Backboard.
For the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, Karasis had 12 points and 3 assists, Courtney Lee had 19 points, 2 rebounds, and Zach Randolph had 12 points and 9 rebounds.
The fifth game was played at the Grizzlies' home court. Conley still failed to return. His replacement was Calathes, while the Trail Blazers still let Afflalo serve as the starting shooting guard.
Although the Trail Blazers worked hard enough and kept getting closer to the score, they still couldn't defeat the tenacious and disciplined Grizzlies at the last moment. In the end, the Grizzlies defeated the Trail Blazers 99-93 at home and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a total score of 4-1.
Will face the warriors.
For the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Courtney Lee had 20 points and 2 steals, Zach Randolph had 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Jeff Green had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
For the Trail Blazers, CJ McCollum came off the bench with 33 points and 3 rebounds, Damian Lillard had 22 points and 6 rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Nicolas Batum
6 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists.
It's not surprising that the Trail Blazers lost this series. First, they were out of balance and their main shooting guard Matthews was injured. This had a great impact on them. The other reason was that the Trail Blazers' double-gun defense in the backcourt was poor.
, the interior defense is not good either. When an offense-oriented team is short of major generals and performs poorly, but encounters a top defensive team, it is not surprising to lose.
The Grizzlies are very strong, both inside and outside, and they play very reasonably. At the same time, they have strong defense and are known as the strongest shield in the league. Their opponent in the semifinals, the Warriors, is known as the sharpest spear. These two
The duel between the two teams will definitely attract a lot of attention and is worth looking forward to!
