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Randolph notches career high as Blazers outlast Grizzlies

Jan 28, 2007 - 5:41 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Zach Randolph never got tired of shooting.

In a dramatic contest, Randolph scored a career-high 42 points and added 12 rebounds, carrying the Portland Trail Blazers down the stretch in a 135-132 double-overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Launching a franchise-record 40 shots overall, Randolph scored 10 points in the second extra period for the Trail Blazers, who trailed for most of the game but rode their star power forward to their third win in four games.

"I didn't even know it was that many (points and shots) while I was out there," Randolph said. "When they said 40, I couldn't believe it."

Struggling through the fourth quarter and the first overtime, Randolph seemed tired as Grizzlies center Pau Gasol - with a three-inch height advantage - repeatedly blocked his shot. However, the 6-9 forward came out energized in the second OT.

"(Portland coach Nate McMillan) said that someone had to step it up," Randolph said. "He challenged us. I think this showed what kind of team we are now. Last year, we would have lost by 30."

"(Randolph) is a tough guard because he's so strong but also real athletic," Memphis forward Hakim Warrick said. "He's got a lot of moves. They kept feeding him the ball, and he was making things happen in the paint. We have to do a better job of keeping guys like that out of the paint. He hurt us."

Randolph scored on a variety of shots, including a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired that made it 131-125 with 38 seconds left. He was 16-of-40 from the field and 9-of-11 from the line.

"It got physical down the stretch, and I wasn't backing down," Randolph said. "It wasn't pretty, but we worked and got it done in the paint. Coach challenged us, and I tried to answer the call as best I could. It was a tough game but a good win."

Blazers rookie Brandon Roy scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and made some huge shots down the stretch. With the game tied in the second overtime, Roy converted a three-point play and dropped in a layup off a spin move on consecutive possessions to give Portland a 128-123 lead with 1:08 left.

"Those are our go-to guys, Brandon and Zach," McMillan said. "We don't have many other options, but they're good options. The main thing was to rest Zach and give Brandon an opportunity. When Roy couldn't do it, we brought back Zach."

Despite his stellar play, Roy praised Randolph. "Randolph kept us in it in the overtime," Roy said. "He kept with it, and it worked out for us. In the second half, we played with more passion, and we did what we needed to do."

Ime Udoka provided an unexpected spark for Portland, scoring a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Udoka had a chance to cap his big night with a game-winning shot but missed a short jumper as time expired in regulation.

After missing one game with a left hamstring injury, Gasol collected 24 points and 14 rebounds. Mike Miller scored 28 points for the Grizzlies, who shot 53 percent (47-of-89).

"That's tough. We had some chances to put things away and didn't execute like we should have," Miller said. "Some balls didn't fall, but the bottom line is execution. We can't give them the second-chance opportunities they had. We played our kind of game early, but give them credit, they took us out of some things late."

Memphis had a chance to win on the final possession of the first overtime. Chucky Atkins missed a point-blank runner and the rebound was tapped to mid-court as time expired.