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Gasol, Grizzlies take out Blazers

Apr 30, 2015 - 5:46 AM Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Conley and his badly swollen left eye looked on from the luxury suites before moving to the bench as the final seconds of the Memphis Grizzlies' first-round series win over the Portland Trail Blazers ticked down.

Whether he'll continue to watch on from afar remains a huge question.

Marc Gasol had 26 points and 14 rebounds and the Grizzlies defeated the Blazers 99-93 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

C.J. McCollum scored 16 of his 33 points in the third quarter to keep Portland within striking distance heading into the fourth, with his pull-up jumper at the buzzer making it 68-66.

The Grizzlies, however, pulled away for good during the middle to late stages of the fourth with a 9-0 run.

"Defense and finishing possessions with rebounds," Gasol said of how Memphis pulled away.

Conley underwent surgery Monday to repair multiple facial fractures after taking an inadvertent elbow in the third quarter of the Grizzlies' Game 3 win in Portland.

The southpaw provided an update of his status during an interview with TNT's Lewis Johnson during the first quarter. Conley stated that several metal plates were inserted into the area surrounding the eye

Coach Dave Joerger has said that Memphis' floor general could be out as little as a week or up as long as a month.

The fifth-seeded Grizzlies will face the No. 1 seed Golden State Warriors in the next round.

"If he can't go we'll have to figure out a way," Gasol said of Conley.

Courtney Lee netted 20 points and Zach Randolph added 16 points and eight rebounds for Memphis, which won a first-round series for the third time in its last five seasons.

The Grizzlies snatched 15 offensive rebounds and held a 56-38 edge on the boards overall.

Damian Lillard posted 22 points and six boards for the Blazers, who dropped their first-round set for the seventh time in their last eight years.

"They played a very good series," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Certainly they outplayed us and deserved to win the series. It's always disappointing to end the season on a loss. The last three games we played pretty well, we came up short."

LaMarcus Aldridge supplied 14 points and nine boards in what might've been his final game in Portland. He is a free agent this summer.

Aldridge's three-point play cut Portland's deficit to 76-75 with 7:28 left before Memphis went on its game-clinching spurt.

Randolph knocked down a step-back right wing jumper to cap the surge for an 85-75 margin with 3:27 to play.

Memphis sunk 10-of-14 from the foul line to seal the outcome.

Earlier, Randolph scored the first six points of the game as the Grizzlies raced out to a 10-0 start.

The Blazers, though, closed the opening frame on a 12-2 run to tie the contest at 20-20. McCollum poured in seven points during the stretch.

Memphis scored eight of the final 10 points to finish off the first half, with a pair of Gasol free throws in the waning seconds staking it to a 46-39 cushion.

Four of McCollum's seven makes from beyond the arc took place in the third.

Game Notes

Memphis has won its last five Game 5s ... The Grizzlies were just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc, but made 24 of its 30 foul shots ... The Blazers were 13-of-33 from long distance ... Memphis held a 44-30 points in the paint advantage ... Jeff Green scored 10 points off the bench for the Grizzlies.