Blazers halt Memphis’ win streak

Rasheed Wallace added 16 points and 10 boards for Portland, which has won three of their last four games. Despite the recent success, the Blazers are just 4-10 over their last 14.

They also got 12 points apiece from Derek Anderson and Ruben Patterson.

Former Trail Blazer Bonzi Wells came off the bench to score 20 for Memphis, which also had its franchise-record home win streak snapped at seven games. Pau Gasol added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

"You just hate to lose," Wells said. "Especially to Portland, for me personally."

Despite the loss, the Grizzlies have still earned a team-record 10 wins this month and remain only three wins shy of tying the team mark for most victories in an entire season (28).

Portland carried a 64-60 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Grizzlies rallied to tie it with four straight points from Earl Watson.

However, the Blazer put the game away with a explosive 16-2 outburst, keyed by seven points from Wallace. Damon Stoudamire capped the spurt with a pair of free throws to make it 80-66 with just 5:00 remaining, and Memphis never threatened after that.

In a tightly-contested first half, Portland held the biggest lead at 25-16 after Wallace’s three-pointer early in the second quarter. The Grizzlies rallied back to tie the score later on, but the Blazers led 40-34 at halftime behind Randolph’s 14 points.

Both teams shot worse than 34 percent over the opening 24 minutes of play, but the Blazers hit on half of their six three-point attempts and went 9-of-10 from the foul line. Memphis was just 1-of-7 from behind the arc and missed five of its 12 attempts beyond the arc.

Portland led by as many as 10 early in the third quarter when Randolph’s bucket made it 44-34. Memphis pulled within 46-44 after a 10-2 burst, and later tied the score on three separate occasions, but the Blazers never relinquished their lead.