Portland Trail Blazers Team Report - March 14

(Basketball News) - The Portland Trail Blazers try to post a home-and-home sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday when the teams meet at FedExForum.

On Saturday, Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, as the Blazers trounced the Grizzlies, 80-66 at the Rose Garden. Richie Frahm added 14 points, while Joel Przybilla and Theo Ratliff each had a dozen for the Blazers, who ended a six-game skid with the victory.

The game marked the first win for interim coach Kevin Pritchard, who took over when Maurice Cheeks was fired on March 2. Pritchard had lost his first four games on the bench, and the Blazers had dropped six straight overall. The Trail Blazers blew the game open in the third quarter, using 26-5 run to turn a 45-42 deficit into a 68-50 lead.

Portland, which has lost three straight on the road, begins a three-game trip tonight and will visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Following the Houston game, the Blazers will travel to Dallas to meet the Mavericks ths next night.

The Trail Blazers return home on Saturday to host the Orlando Magic. Earlier this season, Portland defeated the Magic, 89-83, on November 24th at TD Waterhouse Centre. Saturday’s contest will be the final meeting of the 2004-05 campaign between the Blazers and Orlando.

Saturday’s win ended a three-game series losing streak against Memphis for Portland.The Blazers have, however, lost three of their last four road games against the Grizzlies

Abdur-Rahim has scored in double-digits in five straight games and has scored more than 20 points in four of those contests. He is averaging 22.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in the five contests.