MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Marc Gasol had 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference semifinals by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 99-93 on Wednesday night.
The Grizzlies reached the West semifinals for the third time in five years. They will play Game 1 on Sunday at Golden State.
Memphis closed out Portland in five games despite not having point guard Mike Conley for a second straight game as he recovers from surgery to repair broken bones near his left eye.
Courtney Lee added 20 points for Memphis, Zach Randolph had 16 and Jeff Green added 10 off the bench.
CJ McCollum led Portland with a career-high 33 points. Damian Lillard had 22 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 before fouling out late as they combined to shoot 13 of 37. The Trail Blazers lost in the first round for the seventh time in their last eight postseasons.
The Grizzlies finished off the game hitting 10 of 14 free throws in the final 64 seconds, and Gasol blocked a jumper by Nicolas Batum with 6.9 seconds left to start the celebration.
Memphis led only 68-66 at the end of the third, and Portland had the seventh and last tie at 72 before Vince Carter put the Grizzlies ahead to stay with a fadeaway jumper. Aldridge got the Trail Blazers within 76-75 with a three-point play before Memphis went on a 9-0 run, pushing its lead back to double digits.
The Grizzlies hit seven of their first nine shots in taking a 12-point lead in the opening minutes. The Blazers were missing shots and turning the ball over, but Lillard, who missed his first four shots, had nine points in helping the Blazers tie it at 20 at the end of the first quarter.
Memphis missed 13 of its first 17 shots in the second quarter but took a 46-39 lead into halftime after finishing the quarter with no point guard on the floor, letting Lee and Carter handle the ball.
Memphis took a 13-point lead early in the third that the Blazers erased with a 22-6 run, with McCollum hitting six of his seven shots in the quarter, including four of five beyond the arc. His fourth gave Portland its biggest lead in the quarter at 61-58, though Memphis led 68-66 at the end of the third.
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