The Portland Trail Blazers dug deep and displayed great stick-to-itiveness en route to a 122-112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday evening. This marked the Blazers’ first road win since December 17 against the Houston Rockets.
Damian Lillard was the gas in the tank that fueled Portland from the opening tip to the final whistle. When the Blazers started out cold from the floor, his torrid offense provided them warmth to survive. When the Blazers lost center Jusuf Nurkic and forward Jerami Grant, Lillard shouldered extra offensive burden. He produced 42 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 15-16 shooting from the charity stripe.