Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies square off in play-in game
Memphis Grizzlies (34-39, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (35-39, eighth in the Western Conference)
Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Saturday, 2:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Trail Blazers -6; over/under is 233.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies square off in a play-in game to decide the 8th seed in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers keep the 8th seed with a victory, while the Grizzlies need to win two straight games to take the last playoff spot.
The Trail Blazers are 20-27 in conference games. Portland is 19-5 when outrebounding opponents and averages 45.3 rebounds per game.
The Grizzlies are 20-26 against Western Conference opponents. Memphis ranks third in the NBA scoring 17.2 fast break points per game led by Dillon Brooks averaging 2.6.
The Trail Blazers won the last meeting between these two squads 140-135 on July 31. CJ McCollum scored 33 points to help lead Portland to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Damian Lillard leads the Trail Blazers averaging 4.1 made 3-pointers, and is scoring 30 points per game while shooting 40.1% from beyond the arc. McCollum is averaging 20.2 points and 5.2 assists over the last 10 games for Portland.
Ja Morant is averaging 17.8 points and 7.3 assists for the Grizzlies. Brooks is averaging 19.5 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 42.1% over the last 10 games for Memphis.
LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 7-3, averaging 124 points, 43.9 rebounds, 23.4 assists, 8.2 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 121.5 points on 48.5% shooting.
Grizzlies: 3-7, averaging 113.4 points, 45.8 rebounds, 25.9 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113 points on 44.0% shooting.
INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Nassir Little: out (dehydration).
Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (meniscus), Tyus Jones: out (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by , and data from ,.
