The season for the Portland Trail Blazers ended as the clock was winding down and as the Memphis Grizzlies were getting ready to celebrate their 99-93 series clinching victory. Portland fought hard, but was unable to bounce back after beginning the series down 3-0. Memphis was able to close the series out after losing their chance to complete a sweep in Game 4.
Damian Lillard worked as hard as he could throughout the series to get bring his team back into contention for a series victory, but was unable to do so. Lillard finished Game 5 with 22 points on 8-19 shooting while also adding in 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. He only shot 1/8 from three-point range, which killed his shooting percentage, but he still performed well in other aspects of the game.
Lillard may have brought his all, but his teammates struggled to bring the same intensity and will to win. Three starters for Portland failed to score in double figures, and the only production they received off the bench was from C.J. McCollum, who scored 33 points on 12/20 shooting with 3 rebounds in 39 minutes of play. Even with the lack of scoring from many of the Portland players, they somehow managed to stay in the game and almost had a chance to win.
Memphis was led by their center, Marc Gasol, who scored 26 on 9/15 shooting with 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Gasol seemed ready to close the series out, and played like he wanted some rest before their next series. With a performance like this, Gasol earned both himself and his teammates some much deserved rest.
Memphis now moves onto the Western Conference Semifinals with an opportunity to make it to the Western Conference Finals. With some additional rest before the series, they will look to use their fresh legs and make an impact immediately so they can ease through the rest of the series. Golden State is going to be a very tough matchup for Memphis, but should become a much more competitive series than this one was.
