PORTLAND — Ja Morant had 33 points and 13 assists and the Memphis Grizzlies finally won a close one in handing the Portland Trail Blazers their fourth straight loss, 130-128 on Friday night.
Dillon Brooks added 25 points for Memphis and Jaren Jackson Junior, in just his second game back, scored 23 as the Grizzlies snapped a two-game losing streak and inched closer to the Blazers in the Western Conference standings.
This game, the first of three games in six days between the Grizzlies and Trail Blazers.
Damian Lillard started slow but finished with 27 points, and Jusuf Nurkic added 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds but both missed big shot late.
Portland has lost six of its last seven and is now just a game and a half ahead of the Grizzlies for seventh in the West.