THE Portland Trail Blazers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 107-100 in overtime Sunday night, marking their second straight road win over Memphis in as many nights.
During his post-match press conference, Portland coach Chauncey Billups pointed out that beating the same team twice in two days was no easy task. That may explain why Sunday’s overtime battle was much tougher than Friday’s 122-92 drubbing, even with Memphis more shorthanded than Portland (which is saying something right now).
I just knew going into the game we had to do everything we could. You beat a team like that, which obviously has an incredible culture. They’re very well coached there, and if you beat them at home like that, you know they’re going to come out and throw every punch they can at you. And they did. I thought we responded well, but we could never overcome the obstacle.
Billups didn’t think Portland played well in the first half, but still trailed by just four at halftime. That small margin grew to 17 points at the end of the third quarter and 18 at the start of the fourth. The Blazers shot just 26.3% in that third quarter, scoring just 14 points.
I thought we stopped sharing the ball in that third quarter, so we came back to it and said, “Let’s try to get it down to single digits, man.” Let’s get it down to a single number and we’ll regroup.
The Blazers responded by outscoring the Grizzlies 34-17 in that crucial fourth quarter, shooting 52.4 percent from the field. When asked what sparked the comeback, Billups said two main things: an offensive look that freed up Anfernee Simons and a stingier defense.
There were a few different play calls that I participated in, and I felt like we could free Ant up. The plays weren’t necessarily for him to shoot, but to make the play. They started putting two balls on him at one point later in the fourth. I said, ‘perfect, I want to put the ball in his hands.’ We’ll create an advantage there, play four against three at the back. …But more important than that, our guys got tougher on D and only allowed them one shot.
After struggling badly in the first three quarters with his shooting and turnovers (4-13 for 12 points and four turnovers), Simons sparked Portland’s comeback in the fourth. The sixth-year guard shot 5-7 for 16 points, one assist and no turnovers in the fourth to help force overtime. It all added up to a 30-point, seven-assist, six-rebound performance from Simons that drew praise from his head coach.
I thought Ant’s performance was top notch. They threw everything at him, including the kitchen sink. Refuse it completely [court], box and one, they did everything they could. He remained patient. He trusted his teammates. I just thought it was a great performance.
Alongside Simons, Billups congratulated several other Blazers after the victory. Plucky point guard Ashton Hagans provided a boost off the bench with 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals (and six turnovers). Jabari Walker had 18 points, 12 rebounds and the game-tying free throws that forced overtime with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Toumani Camara added 15 points and seven rebounds while shooting 3-4 from downtown. And then Dalano Banton, after being hamstrung by trouble all night, scored eight of his 10 points in overtime to seal the comeback victory.
Saturday night’s win at Memphis wasn’t pretty by any means, but a lot of guys stepped up for Portland. After going winless in February, Billups and the Blazers seemed happy to get off to a 2-0 start to March.
