Grizzlies' bench, defense key to victory over Blazers

Santi Aldama came off the bench to score 22 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jaylen Wells added 16 apiece to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 119-96 victory Sunday over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.

The Grizzlies won for the fifth time in six games and recorded back-to-back home wins for the first time this season.

Portland was held to fewer than 100 points for only the second time this season. The Trail Blazers, who lost for the fifth time in six games, were led by Jerami Grant with 21 points and seven rebounds. Deni Avdija added 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Shaedon Sharpe had 17 points. Toumani Camara contributed 13 points and six rebounds.

Aldama and Caldwell-Pope were part of the Memphis bench that produced 69 points, along with Jock Landale (15 points, eight rebounds) and Cam Spencer (12 points, five assists). Starter Zach Edey had 12 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Memphis, which had a season-high 18 steals, withstood a second-half challenge by Portland, which trailed by 25 at one point in the first half.

Trailing by 20 at the half, Portland made a strong comeback try to open the third quarter. The Trail Blazers put together a 16-1 run that included 3-pointers from Grant and Avdija. A free throw by Grant with 7:32 to go in the third cut the deficit to four points before Memphis recovered to take a 92-78 advantage into the final quarter.

The Grizzlies threatened to turn this into a lopsided game from the outset. Memphis built a 22-point lead late in the first quarter and extended it to 25 early in the second quarter following a three-point play from Caldwell-Pope. The Grizzlies led by 20 (66-46) at halftime behind 37 bench points.

For the second straight game, Jaren Jackson Jr. had four or fewer points in an opening half. Jackson, who averages 17.5 points per game, had two blocks in the fourth quarter, but finished with only six points in 24 minutes and went 3-of-10 shooting.

--Field Level Media