MEMPHIS, Tenn. — — Anfernee Simons scored 20 of her 30 points in the second half and overtime and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 107-100 Saturday night after overcoming a 13-point deficit in the final nine minutes.
Jabari Walker finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Toumani Camara added 15 points to help Portland sweep the two-game set after winning the opener 122-92 on Friday night. Ashton Hagans finished with 13 points and eight assists, while Dalano Banton scored eight of his 10 points in overtime.
“I knew coming into the game that we had to do everything we could,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “You beat a team like that…at home, they’re going to come out and punch. You throw every punch they can, and they did.
Santi Aldama and Vince Williams Jr. each had 21 points for Memphis, which lost its fifth straight. GG Jackson added 17 points, and Aldama and Williams each had eight rebounds.
“We responded starting (Friday),” Aldama said. “It was great. But I just felt like defensively we weren’t there. Offensively we were stagnant.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins called Friday’s 30-point loss “embarrassing.” Although the Grizzlies were much more competitive on Saturday, they were unable to hold a 78-61 lead after three quarters. Jenkins said the performance was “much more encouraging.”
“Simons is a really good player and he looks sharp,” Taylor said of the fourth-quarter collapse. “We didn’t make enough shots in that fourth quarter. I thought we played well the first three quarters. Then they went on a run to start the fourth.”
Memphis, with many key players injured, hasn’t closed out games and let wins slip away like it did on Saturday. Portland actually trailed 18 early in the fourth and still trailed by 13 with nine minutes remaining.
“I thought we stopped sharing the ball in that third quarter,” Billups said, adding that he told his team to just try to get the deficit back to single digits. “We did it, and so many guys played so well.”
Despite Memphis’ double-digit lead, Portland tied it at 95 with 1.3 seconds left on Walker’s two free throws. Both teams missed lobs at the rim on the final possessions of regulation.
“I just felt like we were stuck. This happened,” Aldama said. “We stopped playing the game that got us there.”
In overtime, Simons scored Portland’s first basket before Banton took over, including a dunk as time expired.
“Down 18 (in the fourth), that’s big,” Hagans said. Now it’s just time to move on.”
FOLLOWING
Trail Blazers: At Minnesota Monday night.
Grizzlies: At Brooklyn Monday night.
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