NBA PLAYOFF PICTURE

Grizzlies hold off Trail Blazers 115-109 take a 3-0 lead

The Sports Xchange

April 26, 2015 at 12:36 am.

Apr 25, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez (42) in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

PORTLAND, Ore. — Center Marc Gasol scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Portland Trail Blazers 115-109 Saturday night at the Moda Center to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round best-of-seven playoff series.

Guard Courtney Lee added 20 points as five players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies.

Forward Nicolas Batum collected 27 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Trail Blazers. Guard CJ McCollum came off the bench to add 26 points while guard Damian Lillard scored 22 points with nine assists and forward LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 21 points and seven rebounds.

Memphis can wrap up the series with a win Monday night at the Moda Center.

Guards Mike Conley (12 points), Lee (10) and Nick Calethes (seven) combined for 29 points to spur Memphis to a 62-49 halftime lead. The Grizzlies shot .575 from the field and were 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 13-for-14 from the foul line in the half.

Lillard had 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

Memphis increased its advantage to 74-60 with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Grizzlies took an 85-75 edge into the final period.

The visitors led 90-79 with 7:50 to play, but Batum was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to cut the lead to cut the deficit to 90-82.

Gasol hit two jumpers in a row to push Memphis back ahead 94-82, but Batum knocked down a 17-footer and guard Arron Afflalo followed with a line-drive 3-pointer to cut the margin to 84-87 with 4:08 to go.

When Batum buried a 3 with 2:20 to go, the Grizzlies’ lead was down to 94-91.

Guard Tony Allen’s layup pushed Memphis ahead 96-91 with 1:58 left, and forward Zach Randolph sank a pair at the line to make it 98-91 with 1:32 remaining. Seconds later, Allen’s breakaway dunk gave the Grizzlies a 100-91 advantage.

Batum drilled another 3 to cut the difference to 100-94 with 1:11 to go. Allen hit two free throws two seconds later to make it 102-94. McCollum’s 3-point play with 28.4 seconds left cut the difference to 109-104, but that was as close as the Blazers were to get.

Memphis led 13-5 early as Portland made only one of its first nine shots from the field. The Grizzlies built the advantage to 18-7 seven minutes into the game.

The Grizzlies’ lead was 24-19 going into the second quarter.

NOTES: G Arron Afflalo, who had missed the previous five games with a strained right shoulder, started for Portland. … Blazers G Damian Lillard came into the game shooting 27 percent from the field in the first two games, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range. Lillard shot 43.4 percent from the field and 34.3 percent on 3-point attempts during the regular season. … Grizzlies C Marc Gasol (.355) and F Zach Randolph (.314) have both struggled from the field in the series. “That’s good for us; we’re winning,” coach Dave Joerger quipped. … Memphis came in with a 6-0 record against Portland this season — 4-0 in the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs. The Grizzlies have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the teams dating to the 2012-13 season. … Memphis entered the game first among the 16 playoff teams in opponents’ scoring average (84.0) and opponents’ field-goal percentage (.360). … The Grizzlies totaled 14 turnovers in the first two games, “which is ridiculously low,” Joerger said. “When you go on the road, you can’t hear as well, you get a little frantic and turnovers can go up. The home team doesn’t need as much of a spark to get the fire started.”