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Blazers go for another road win in Memphis

Dec 13, 2010 - 4:11 PM (Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers have a decent shot at getting back into the win column, as they aim for their ninth straight win in Memphis tonight against the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.

Portland made it eight wins in a row as the visitor in the series with a 100-99 triumph back on Nov. 16 this season. Wesley Matthews finished with a career-high 30 points and Marcus Camby had a game-high 17 rebounds in that one, helping the Blazers to a 13-6 mark in the previous 19 meetings between the two teams.

The Blazers' last defeat at Memphis was during the 2005-06 campaign.

A four-game overall winning streak for the Blazers was put on hold with Sunday's 95-78 setback in San Antonio. Brandon Roy was just 4-of-16 for nine points, while Matthews ended with a team-high 17 points. Matthews is averaging 20.3 points in 11 starts. Camby registered 11 points and 13 boards in defeat, and has grabbed at least 10 rebounds 16 times this season. He is seventh in the league in rebounding with an 11.0 rpg clip.

Portland had won the previous five matchups with San Antonio and its bench was outscored by a 42-18 count.

"They play fast on the perimeter, and they play really hard," Roy said of the Spurs. "Tonight we were a little tired and you could tell, they just beat us to every ball."

The Trail Blazers are 1-1 on a four-game road trip and will also visit Dallas on the swing. They own a 5-9 mark away from the Rose City in 2010-11.

Memphis closed out a four-game road trip with back-to-back wins, including an 84-83 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at Staples Center.

Marc Gasol scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Los Angeles, which needed Gasol's swat off the rebound of a Baron Davis jumper in the waning moments. Zach Randolph recorded 18 points and 13 boards for Memphis, which forced 27 turnovers and went 2-2 on the trek.

"It was a gutsy, gritty performance coming down the stretch," Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said of his team.

Randolph is averaging a double-double for the fifth consecutive season with 17.6 points and a career-high 11.9 rebounds. O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay ended with 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Grizzlies. Mike Conley posted just seven points and eight assists, but is averaging 17.9 points and 8.0 assists on .527 shooting in the previous seven games.

Memphis leads the NBA in points in the paint for a second consecutive season with an average of 48.3 points inside. It leads the league in forced turnovers (17.3) and points off turnovers (19.6), while ranking third in steals (9.08).

The Grizzlies will also host Charlotte on the quick homestand and are 6-5 at home this season.