The Portland Trail Blazers’ first loss of the season arrived in a rough spot, as Memphis broke open a tight game late and rolled to a 124-103 win in the Morant-Bowl.
The undefeated matchup stayed close for three quarters, but the Grizzlies took over in the fourth with a 22-8 run and moved to 5-0. Portland dropped to 3-1 after an ugly shooting night, connecting on just 24.5 percent of its three-pointers and a shaky 65 percent at the free-throw line.
Memphis had the cleaner answer everywhere. Eight Grizzlies finished in double figures, and rookie forward Cameron Boozer posted the first triple-double of his career to help push the game out of reach.
For Portland, Donovan Clingan was one of the few players who held up well. The center delivered 11 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, but the Blazers still felt the absence of Robert Williams III in the middle. Micah Nori cycled through different looks and backup-center combinations, yet none of them really solved that problem.
Ja Morant’s night ended with the fourth quarter barely underway. After several possessions where he looked laboring and moving gingerly, he came out at the 7:46 mark and immediately met with trainers behind the bench before being shut down for the rest of the game because of concerns about his left hamstring. It was a rough finish to what had been Morant’s first of many revenge games against his former team.
After the game, Morant was being evaluated, and Nori didn’t have much to add.
“He just said he felt a little twinge,” Nori said postgame.
The next update should come soon, but with a hamstring involved and Morant’s injury history in the picture, this feels like a situation the team won’t rush. His name will likely show up on Saturday’s injury report against the Jazz.
If Morant can’t play in Salt Lake City, that opens a door for Scoot Henderson to try to get his season moving in the right direction after a quiet start.
Damian Lillard’s return to Portland has also been uneven so far. The Blazers have started the year well, but the 36-year-old guard hasn’t found his usual rhythm yet, and that showed against Memphis. He shot 23 percent from the field, 11 percent from deep and an uncharacteristic 50 percent from the line.
Lillard finished with nine points, his lowest regular-season total since a nine-point game in 2024. A number of his misses came on shots that looked forced, which is not how he usually operates. He’s now on pace for the worst shooting season of his NBA career while taking the fewest shots per game he has ever attempted.
Some of that can be chalked up to rust with only four regular-season games in his return. Still, scoring touch is the engine of Lillard’s game, and Portland is going to have a hard time when he’s not making defenses pay. The free-throw line should be the easiest place for him to regain form, and the Blazers need that to happen for the offense to really open up.
One player who did keep producing was Deni Avdija, who continued his strong start by stuffing the box score. He finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and was one of the few steady offensive presences Portland had all night.
A lot of the Blazers’ better possessions came through Avdija in some form. He handled the ball, moved without it, and even worked as a screener at times, all while bending the defense and creating looks for himself and others.
That fits with what Portland emphasized in camp about creating more catch-and-shoot threes through actions around Avdija. Even with Morant and Lillard in the backcourt, he looks like the player most capable of unlocking the offense.
In Other News...
Ja Morant's Return To Memphis Took A Brutal Turn Fast
Ja Morants first game against the Grizzlies since being traded had the kind of emotional pull that naturally comes with a reunion, but it took an abrupt turn early in the fourth quarter when he went down with a left hamstring injury. He was unable to return, closing out the night with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in a game that had already carried extra weight simply because of who was on the other sideline.
For Memphis fans, the concern shifts immediately from the storyline of the matchup to the condition of one of the franchises most recognizable former stars. Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori said Morant felt a twinge, and more clarity is expected tomorrow afternoon, leaving this one with a pause where the aftermath should be. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Frontcourt Depth Is Already Facing A Familiar Concern
The Grizzlies frontcourt depth took another hit in the win over Portland when Quinten Post went down with a right ankle injury and was ruled doubtful to return. He did not play again, leaving Memphis to navigate the rest of the game without one of the big bodies it has been trying to lean on as the season settles in.
Isaiah Stewarts recent path only sharpens the concern. He already missed the season opener with an ankle issue, then came back after two weeks and has been productive since his return, but his own history and Posts latest setback put the same old question back on the table for Memphis: how stable can the big-man rotation really be if the ankle trouble keeps popping up? [Read more 🡒]
Cameron Boozer Just Put Memphis In Some Rare NBA History
Cameron Boozers night in Memphis was the kind that tends to travel fast around the league. In the Grizzlies win over Portland, the young forward filled up every part of the stat sheet, handing out passes, cleaning the glass and knocking down enough shots to turn a strong performance into something historic.
For Memphis, the eye-catching part is not just the all-around production but the age at which it arrived. Boozer became the youngest forward ever to post a triple-double, a marker that had previously belonged to LeBron James, and he did it in just his first one. There will be plenty of time to sort out what it means long term, but for one night the Grizzlies had a player making a very rare kind of NBA history. [Read more 🡒]