The Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies each played 48 minutes back and forth in the first NBA In-Season Tournament Group Play game of the year. Memphis brought in Desmond Bane and a young, athletic group of wingers. Portland countered with Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant and a willingness to run. With each team playing alternately brilliant and painful basketball, they were tied at 102 at the end of regulation. Sharpe stepped up with a game-saving block to send it to OT, then scored or allowed enough Portland points in the extra frame , to ensure a 115-113 Portland victory.
Desmond Bane led all scorers in the game with 33. His teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. added 30. But Sharpe went for 22, Malcolm Brogdon for 24 and Jerami Grant for a team-best 26 to put the Blazers over the top.
Portland now has a win in the fight for the inaugural NBA Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the in-season tournament.
First quarter
Both teams tried to push the ball inside to start the game. Both were also prepared for the other’s semi-predictable attack pattern. There were plenty of blockages and distractions. However, when these things didn’t happen, the scoring went smoothly. The Blazers cut off the lane and released Matisse Thybulle and Jerami Grant for threes. Around them, every Blazers player scored with cuts or cropped sweaters. But Memphis also had cutters. Marcus Smart and Co. took advantage of slow dribbles into the lane, pulling the defenders towards them and then stepping to suddenly open up the drivers. At halftime of the first period, Portland only led 16:15 despite shooting 50%.
Stopping Memphis’ pass remained a problem for Portland in the first period. The individual defense was strong, it would be better if they could send a second defender. However, when the ball moved, the Blazers couldn’t recover. This was true regardless of whether the passes cut inside or went around the goal.
With a faster performance than the Grizzlies and 9 additional points from Malcolm Brogdon, who started in place of the injured Scoot Henderson, Portland led the way in repeat defense. The second unit also did a good job of passing and cutting the ball, just like the Memphis starters had done. That gave the Blazers a 33-26 lead after one game.
Second quarter
Portland hit rock bottom early in the second half, an unusual development this season. Their defense disintegrated, allowing shot after shot at the rim and a few three-pointers at the top. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. took turns playing like they were back in AAU and scoring incredibly easily. Meanwhile, the Blazers played slower and struggled on offense like it was an English task during Thanksgiving break. No joke, they got 1st place on their first 20 or so attempts during that time frame. The result was a Memphis lead that peaked at 48-37 at the 5:24 mark, a 17-point turnaround in under 7 minutes.
But damned if the starters didn’t step in again and turn the game around. This, too, was the opposite of Portland’s traditional pattern. It could also be explained by the fact that Brogdon and Thybulle are out now that Henderson and Anfernee Simons are out. These two – individually and together – help strengthen the defense. Shaedon Sharpe also contributed defensively in the second quarter. When the “D” finally performed, the tempo quickened and the Blazers began to score again, mostly within their own ranks.
After falling off a cliff, Portland pulled it back heroically and regained the lead at halftime, 54-53.
Third quarter
Toumani Camara got the start at the start of the third quarter, a tribute to the importance of defense for the Blazers and a testament to his greatness at the small forward position. Portland struggled offensively from the start. They tried to hit with deep threes. This is not their game. Jerami Grant hit one, but everyone else missed.
Memphis also did a good job against Portland’s pick and roll. This left the Blazers offside for a while. But Portland responded by shutting down Memphis’ interior and bringing in Deandre Ayton to provide defensive exclamation points. This became the engine that drove the offense deeper more quickly. Suddenly the game became more open again.
Memphis took a 7-point lead in the first three minutes of the third period, but the Blazers fought their way back before much more than 5 minutes had passed. The recurring night continued.
When Portland’s offense stalled, Shaedon Sharpe stepped up again. If he sees a one-on-one opportunity on the run, it might as well be unhindered. One against two, he calculates how to score anyway. However, after his rise, he ended up taking it in too much, too often against a defense that saw him attacking from a mile away. The breathing space was short.
Both teams missed numerous threes all around. Memphis’ inability to score wide open beyond the arc saved the Blazers. These terrible failures also led to breakdowns, which helped Portland’s cause. Jerami Grant tried to take the lead, Sharpe style, going hard to the basket. He had mixed results, but under these circumstances any port in a storm would do.
The good news was that despite their inconsistency, the Blazers left the third period trailing 77-76. The bad news was that this happened because Desmond Bane only contributed intermittently and the Grizz missed wide open threes that most seventh graders could sink. The fourth quarter needed improvement if Portland was to thrive.
Fourth quarter
The teams battled back and forth in the first half of the fourth period. Portland took the ball inside and drew foul throws. Those extra points were the good news. The bad news came in two forms: Memphis finally struck from distance and Desmond Bane came back alive. If any of these things get out of hand, the Blazers will have a hard time keeping up. A Bane layup and a dunk from Xavier Tillman gave the Grizzlies a 91-87 lead at the mandatory timeout with 5:41 to play.
No matter how hard they tried, the Blazers couldn’t control the lane defensively. No matter whether the Grizzlies cut the baseline or came straight through, Portland couldn’t stop them. A 6-7 point lead on the home straight was their reward.
At the 4:21 mark, an and-one for Sharpe was erased when the referees overturned the decision following a Memphis challenge. This was a big turning point as three points would have wiped out the Grizzlies’ lead at the half. Instead, Bane hit a layup on the other end to extend the lead to eight. A block on an Ayton layup in a halftime break right after led to a Grizzlies dunk and a 10-point lead with 3:18 remaining. Portland had four potential three-pointers over the next few possessions but only hit one. No worries. The Blazers got a few run outs to close the gap.
Grant had a wide open corner kick to give his team a 102-100 lead with 16 seconds left. Predictably, like most of the other triples the Blazers attempted in the quarter, it happened again and again. Sharpe came to the rescue with two free throws, tying the score with 8.3 remaining. Memphis would have the last chance to equalize.
Under inbounds pressure, the Grizz got Luke Kennard in the corner for a three-pointer. Once again, the defense told the story. Shaedon Sharpe came out of nowhere and got the block. It went into overtime.
Over time
Both teams struggled to score outside of overtime. Ayton got Portland on the board with a one-footer. Then Sharpe got things going with a layup and a three-pointer. Grant followed with another three-pointer after the Grizzlies overcommitted Sharpe and left Jerami open. Memphis managed just one layup and a few free throws in the same period. Portland led 4, 112-108, with 39 seconds left. Ayton pushed Tillman into a turnover on the following play and that was the deciding point.
Next
Stay tuned for analysis of the game coming soon.
Box score
The Blazers will face the Grizzlies again on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time at the Moda Center.
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