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It was a bit of a barn-burner in Memphis on Sunday afternoon between the Grizzlies and the Blazers, but Portland was eventually able to close out a tough road win behind a career-high 37 points from C.J. McCollum. Three of those came late in the fourth quarter in a tight game off a difficult pass from Damian Lillard, who somehow weaved his way into traffic and found McCollum despite being surrounded by four defenders.
Lillard added 19 points for the Blazers but was just 3-of-11 from the field. He wisely deferred to McCollum late in the game, who’d had the hot hand all afternoon. Maurice Harkless added 18 points and seven rebounds. The Blazers shot better than 42 percent from downtown and 45 percent from the floor overall.
Marc Gasol led the way for the Grizzlies with 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field overall and from behind the arc, while Zach Randolph provided a spark off the bench with 15 points and seven rebounds in just 19 minutes of action. Mike Conley chipped in 16 points and seven assists and had a beautiful half-court buzzer-beater to give Memphis the lead going into the break. But the Grizzlies struggled to make shots all game, converting on just 38 percent of their attempts.
