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Jones leads balance attack as Blazers blast Grizzlies

Apr 16, 2008 - 6:02 AM By Kasey Postlewaite PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) - James Jones scored 20 points and Jarrett Jack had 18 points and seven rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 113-91, on Tuesday night at the Rose Garden.

Brandon Roy had 16 points and 11 assists and Channing Frye also scored 16 to help Portland finish with an impressive 27-13 record at home and secured at least a .500 finish since 2002-03.

"This game was a must," said Frye, who made 8-of-10 shots. "Because 41 (wins) is not a losing season. To have a losing season with all the work we've done this year, it would have been (disappointing)."

Portland held a four-point lead before pulling away with a 19-5 run. Jack scored 11 points during the spurt and Frye capped it with a 23-footer at the 5:31 mark for a 74-56 lead.

"It was a good run for us after half," Jack said. "I wasn't able to get myself into rhythm in the first half, but then I was able to get open and penetrate into the lane. I think we got a lot of contributions from just about everyone. That's a great feeling to leave the fans with."

"Things started to slip away from us to end the second quarter and obviously when we began the third," Grizzlies forward Hakim Warrick said. "In the fourth we just didn't have enough to get it going to make a run. The crowd got into it and it was basically over."

Brian Cardinal's up-and-under layup with 9:26 remaining brought the Grizzlies within 86-75. But the Trail Blazers shut the door behind another jumper from Frye and Jones' 3-pointer with 6:59 remaining to make it 94-77.

"Unfortunately we came out in the second half and couldn't hit shots," Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni said. "That took a lot of wind out of our sails. We were physical, we weren't getting calls, but it's tough on the road with the situation we're in. I like the way our guys responded to that."

Warrick scored 17 points and Rudy Gay added 16 and seven boards for Memphis (22-59), which was seeking its first three-game road winning streak since 2005-06.

"It's been a tough year for us but we have a lot of upside," Memphis guard Mike Conley said. "We got a lot of young players. We also got a couple of (draft) picks next year which will help us out. I think this team is a couple of years from being a real contender, a real dangerous team. We got a lot of talent we just have to put it together."

With a win on Wednesday at Denver, the Grizzlies can surpass last year's record with 23-59 mark.

"Hopefully we come out ready to play and no one has decided to go on vacation yet," Conley said. "I hope we can take the game seriously so we can try to get that win. I think we can do that. I think we got the mind set."