The Memphis Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead in their opening round playoff series with a 97-82 win against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 on Wednesday night with another dominant performance.
LaMarcus Aldridge (24 point, 14 rebounds) started strong for the visitors with nine points in the opening quarter as Portland seemingly put their shooting woes behind them to find their form early on.
However, it didn’t last for much longer as the Grizzlies gradually started to build a lead with Beno Udrih giving them a spark off the bench with some impressive plays.
Memphis continued to execute on the offensive end by regularly finding the basket as the likes of Aldridge and Damian Lillard struggled to keep up the pace as the Trail Blazers continue to feel the absence of Arron Afflalo through injury.
The ‘Grit and Grind’ style of the Grizzlies continued to cause problems for their rivals, and it was perfectly displayed in a sequence of play that saw Zach Randolph bully Aldridge on one end before teaming up with Marc Gasol (15 points, seven rebounds and five assists) on the defensive end to force a shot clock violation.
As a result, the Grizzlies will now head to Portland having won six of six against their Western Conference rivals this season, and they will be confident of wrapping up this series with a sweep as the Trail Blazers don’t appear to have the answers needed to compete with their opposition.
Memphis scored more paints on the break, in the paint and picked up multiple second-chance points in a game that they dominated, and they will expect to continue that trend in Game 3 later this week unless Blazers coach Terry Stotts can find some answers quickly combined with Lillard finding his range.
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