The [Portland Trail Blazers](https://www.blazersedge.com) put on an offensive exhibition in front of a home crowd Wednesday, leading wire-to-wire and then hanging on late to defeat the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies 115-99 at the Moda Center, and avoiding a season sweep in the process.
Portland jumped out to a double-digit lead early behind 26 first half points from Deni Avdija and for a moment looked like they might just run away with it. The lead got as high as 21 points before the Grizzlies clawed their way back to single digits late in the third behind Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama. But Anfernee Simons was the difference maker in the final frame, scoring 10 points when it mattered most to seal the victory.
Fresh off his recent minting of Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month, Toumani Camara made his return to the lineup, scoring 15 points and dishing out 3 assists.
**Blazer of the Night: Deni Avdija.** No question here - Deni had it rolling early and kept his foot on the gas en route to a near-triple-double including 31 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists to lead all scorers. He was locked in from deep - especially in the first half where he was 5-6 from beyond the arc - and Memphis wanted nothing to do with his physicality in transition, where he punished the Grizzlies all night.
**Stat of the Night: 65-40 team rebounding.** Memphis is one of the biggest and best rebounding teams in the league and Portland was able to keep them one-and-done for most of the night. The Blazers dominated both sides of the boards handily, primarily behind Avdija and Donovan Clingan, who hauled in 11. It wasn’t quite the 2024 NCAA National Championship rematch between rookies Clingan and Zach Edey one would hope for, but Donovan was able to deliver the same result.
**What We’ll Remember: The implication to the standings**. The Blazers improved to 31-39, and by virtue of Dallas tripping over themselves against the Pacers earlier this evening, now sit only two games behind the Mavericks for the final play-in spot in the West. With only 12 games remaining in the season, the once-longshot odds are starting to look very real.
[**Box Score**](https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705574)
**What’s Next: The league MVP .** The Blazers will get a day off before hosting Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Friday evening at 7 p.m. Pacific.