MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies have learned a very hard lesson about the postseason. Putting together a magical run deep into the playoffs isn’t as easy as they made it look a year ago.

They came back and posted a 41-25 record in the regular season that set a franchise record for the highest winning percentage in earning their highest postseason seed at No. 4. They even had Rudy Gay, who missed last year’s run to the seventh game of the Western Conference semifinals with a shoulder injury.

The Grizzlies ended this postseason in seven games again, but in the first round with an 82-72 loss Sunday to the Clippers.

”Sometimes pain dissipates with time,” coach Lionel Hollins said Monday. ”Hopefully this will stick with them for a long time.”

The Grizzlies finished the season with a 62.1 winning percentage that was amazing considering they lost Darrell Arthur to a torn right Achilles tendon before the season started, then Zach Randolph tore his right MCL on Jan. 1 and missed 37 games.

Memphis finished the regular season winning 16 of 20 with impressive road wins at Oklahoma City, Miami and the Lakers. In the final 18 games, Hollins used Randolph coming off the bench. With that scoring punch, the Grizzlies’ reserves averaged 36.1 points a game in that stretch.

The Grizzlies also led the NBA with 9.6 steals and 17.2 forced turnovers a game, becoming the first team to lead the NBA in those categories in consecutive seasons since the Seattle SuperSonics did it in 1995-96 and 1996-97. They also led the league scoring 19.7 points off turnovers.

They also went 26-7 at home for the best record in franchise history and third-best in the NBA behind only Miami and San Antonio.

”The sky’s the limit for next year when everybody’s healthy and with more experience and more confidence for next year,” guard Tony Allen said.

Yet they wrapped up Monday talking about the same needs as a year ago after losing to Oklahoma City in the second round. Memphis still must find someone to back up Mike Conley at point guard and outside scoring.

Conley played all 40 minutes of Sunday’s final loss despite being sick and running a fever that affected his shooting as he missed his first seven shots and wound up 2 of 13. The Grizzlies hit 11 3-pointers in Game 1 but managed only 2 of 31 in the final three home games of this series.

Gay did lead the Grizzlies in scoring during the playoffs. He also will be heading to training camp with the U.S. men for the London Olympics, and he said he plans to work on all aspects of his game after spending last summer rehabilitating his shoulder.

With Randolph starting against the Clippers, Memphis’ bench averaged 15.3 points in the final three games against Los Angeles with the worst deficit (41-11) coming in the Game 7 loss.

And just as Oklahoma City did in Game 7 a year ago, the Clippers also shut down All-Star center Marc Gasol and Randolph. With nobody able to hit a jumper and going 0 of 13 beyond the arc, Memphis offered no reason for the Clippers to move any defenders away from the paint.

Randolph said they need somebody to open it up so opponents cannot double Gasol and himself.

”You got to have somebody to open it up,” Randolph said. ”They understand how much damage and how much problems me and Marc cause in the paint. We got to fix that.”

The Grizzlies have some decisions to make by July 1. Arthur, O.J. Mayo, Marrese Speights, and Lester Hudson all are restricted free agents, while Gilbert Arenas and Hamed Haddadi are free agents. Mayo and Speights both said they want to be back in Memphis next season.

”We built it basically from the ground up,” Mayo said. ”When I first got here, we had 15 to 2,500 people in the stands to now selling out games and talking about winning championships and home-court advantage in playoffs. It just keeps getting better and better. Why not stick around and finish it out and see where we can get?”

The Grizzlies also had a painful lesson in the playoffs about protecting leads. They built leads repeatedly in the regular season and let them slip away, and it bit them in Game 1 when they blew a 27-point lead overall and 24 points in the fourth quarter. That’s why Hollins wants his Grizzlies to improve their professionalism, poise and focus.

”It’s a concentration … type thing to understand we play the same way whether we’re down or we’re up,” Hollins said.

At least now the Grizzlies don’t have to worry about labor issues putting the start of next season into limbo as they did a year ago and can try to build for the future.

”There were some milestones, but the way I look at it until you hang a championship banner you’re always searching and scrambling and trying to upgrade your team and you’re never satisfied,” general manager Chris Wallace said.

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Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers know they probably won’t get away with another inept performance at the free-throw line in the Western Conference playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies.

”We just can’t let leads go like that, when we’re up six with, I think, 40 seconds left,” Nick Young said Sunday. ”We had everybody in here shooting free throws today.”

The Clippers missed 17 of 30 free throws and almost squandered a six-point lead in the final 23 seconds Saturday, beating the Grizzlies 87-86 only after Rudy Gay missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Game 4 is Monday night, when the Clippers hope to take a 3-1 series lead.

Chris Paul, who had 24 points and 11 assists, was the only Clippers player to do well at the line. He made seven of eight, including two with 23 seconds left for the six-point lead.

The Clippers took six more free throws, missing the last five. Gay hit two 3-pointers to keep the Grizzlies in it.

”Some players haven’t been in that situation, especially with us being in the playoff atmosphere,” Young said. ”You’ve really kind of got like the game in your hands when you’re at the free-throw line. That can be a lot of pressure, with everybody telling you, ‘We need this shot. We need you to make these free throws.

”We’ve just got to take care of home court, really. You shouldn’t have that much pressure at home.”

Coach Vinny Del Negro agreed.

”The bottom line is you’ve got to make the free throws,” he said. ”We’ve struggled with that periodically throughout the season. We were able to overcome it but you have to be very good in a lot of other areas when you miss that many free throws.

”I give the guys a lot of credit for buckling down in the fourth quarter and getting stops and making plays when we had to. We gave them some opportunities by missing some free throws. We’re going to be aggressive and get to the line as much as possible and guys are going to have to step up and make them.”

The Grizzles made 30 of 39 free throws. But they went nearly seven minutes without making a field goal, until Gay buried a 3 with 12.9 seconds left to pull to 86-83.

Del Negro said it’s been a big boost mentally to have forward Caron Butler being able to play despite breaking his non-shooting left hand in Game 1. Butler missed the second game but played Saturday with a split, getting four points and three rebounds.

”It felt comfortable enough to be somewhat effective out there, so I gave it a shot,” he said. ”The role that I’m playing right now, what I’m doing, I can play with no hands. It’s not a big deal. I can play.”

The Grizzlies canceled their practice on Sunday, opting to just watch film.

Gay said there were no secrets to why the Grizzlies have lost twice in this series, including the opener when they blew a 27-point lead at home.

”I think we know what we can be,” he said Saturday. ”The first game we got away from how we played basketball. When we play our way, I feel as though we are a better team.”

All season, the Memphis Grizzlies have been a fourth-quarter team. Get a close game into the final five or so minutes, and the Griz made all the right plays and were able to escape time after time. During the regular season, the Grizzlies were 30-5 when entering the fourth quarter with a lead. They were 16-6 winning games by five points or less, including 3-0 in one-point games. But three games into their first-round series with the Clippers, lousy fourth quarters are the reason the Grizzlies trail 2-1 in the series after the Clips’ second one-point win over Memphis, an 87-86 victory in Game 3 on Saturday in Staples Center. Although the comeback from a seven-point deficit at the start of the third quarter wasn’t as dramatic as the Clippers rallying from 24 down with eight minutes left in Game 1 in Memphis for a 99-98 win, the script was the same. The Grizzlies go stone cold. Clippers point guard Chris Paul gets everyone involved. The Clippers shove around the Griz. Forward Rudy Gay misses a game-winning shot. “We won a game because we executed down the stretch in the fourth quarter,” Griz coach Lionel Hollins said, “and we lost two games because we haven’t. That’s been the difference regardless (of what) was the score at different times.” In the Grizzlies’ two losses to the Clippers in Game 1 and Game 3, Memphis has been outscored a combined 58-28 in the fourth quarter, with the Grizzlies making just 22.9 percent of their field goals (8-of-35) and getting outrebounded 29-12. Saturday, Memphis shot 3-of-16 in the fourth quarter (18.8 percent), going 1-for-13 at one point and without a field goal for 6:58 until Gay hit back-to-back treys to give his team a chance when the Clips’ Eric Bledsoe missed two free throws with eight seconds left. Gay’s double-clutch 20-footer rimmed out. “We’re supposed to have a physical team, but they did to us what we’re supposed to do to them,” Gay said. “They imposed their will. They got to the lane. They played gritty basketball. They got rebounds and second-chance points.”

The Los Angeles Clippers want to get more physical with the Memphis Grizzlies while reintroducing their long-suffering fans to playoff basketball.

To Blake Griffin, it’s simple.

”We have to be the more aggressive team. That’s the biggest thing,” Griffin said Friday.

The Clippers will get their chance in front of a friendly crowd at Staples Center in Game 3 on Saturday. The winner will take a 2-1 lead in the opening-round series.

The Clippers haven’t played a home postseason game since 2006. The next two games will be in Los Angeles.

”Playing in front of the home crowd definitely can give you a little more confidence,” Griffin said. ”You’re a little bit more relaxed. Their fans are loud and they love playing in their home arena, and you can feel that energy from their team. Taking them out of that element and also putting our guys in our home element, hopefully that gives us a little boost I guess.”

Chris Paul agrees.

”I think for us it’s all about Game 3. Game 3 puts us back in the driver’s seat,” Paul said. ”But in the playoffs it’s all about controlling your home court. We went there and got one and now we’ve got to take care of our home court.”

The Clippers stunned the Grizzles in the opener by racing back from a 27-point deficit to win 99-98 Sunday night. Memphis evened the series with a 105-98 win Wednesday night.

”We’ve got to get more physical,” Paul said.”We’ve got to figure out a way to get to the free-throw line more and cut down on theirs. We came out aggressive but I don’t think we sustained it for 48 minutes. So hopefully we can do that at home.”

Memphis scored 31 points at the free-throw line in Game 2 while the Clippers scored 13. The Grizzlies shot 21 more free throws than the Clippers.

”They’re physical as it is the regular season, but they’ve stepped it up in the playoffs,” Griffin said. ”Sometimes it’s tough to differentiate between that line of being extra physical and getting called for fouls. So we’ve got to find that and take it to them.

”I think it’s just about being more aggressive and taking it to them first and not have to pick that up halfway through the game. Just being the team that attacks first.”

Said Memphis center Marc Gasol: ”It’s going to be a physical series. It’s the playoffs. We don’t expect anything less than that for the next game.”

Clippers fans regularly packed Staples Center this year.

That won’t matter much to the Grizzlies.

”It’s nothing like home, but it’s nice to be on the road and try to take something from the other team,” Gasol said.

”There is definitely no difference in preparation,” coach Lionel Hollins said. ”I just think those guys are at home and we’re in a hotel. Their routines are normal and ours are a little bit different because we are in a hotel. As far as the preparation, the practice, the mental part of it, outside of that, it’s all the same.”

Clippers forward Caron Butler practiced Friday on a limited basis while wearing a brace on his broken left hand. Coach Vinny Del Negro said he received a good report from a hand specialist and isn’t ruling Butler out. The coach said he’ll decide Butler’s status on Saturday.

”Caron is a tough guy, he’s a battler, he wants to be out there,” Del Negro said. ”But we also want to be smart about it, so I’ll evaluate it tomorrow. It was good to see him out there. I think it gives ours guys a boost because he is such a big part of our team. I give him a lot of credit for even being out there.”

The Los Angeles Clippers want to get more physical with the Memphis Grizzlies while reintroducing their long-suffering fans to playoff basketball.

To Blake Griffin, it’s simple.

”We have to be the more aggressive team. That’s the biggest thing,” Griffin said Friday.

The Clippers will get their chance in front of a friendly crowd at Staples Center in Game 3 on Saturday. The winner will take a 2-1 lead in the opening-round series.

The Clippers haven’t played a home postseason game since 2006. The next two games will be in Los Angeles.

”Playing in front of the home crowd definitely can give you a little more confidence,” Griffin said. ”You’re a little bit more relaxed. Their fans are loud and they love playing in their home arena, and you can feel that energy from their team. Taking them out of that element and also putting our guys in our home element, hopefully that gives us a little boost I guess.”

Chris Paul agrees.

”I think for us it’s all about Game 3. Game 3 puts us back in the driver’s seat,” Paul said. ”But in the playoffs it’s all about controlling your home court. We went there and got one and now we’ve got to take care of our home court.”

The Clippers stunned the Grizzles in the opener by racing back from a 27-point deficit to win 99-98 Sunday night. Memphis evened the series with a 105-98 win Wednesday night.

”We’ve got to get more physical,” Paul said.”We’ve got to figure out a way to get to the free-throw line more and cut down on theirs. We came out aggressive but I don’t think we sustained it for 48 minutes. So hopefully we can do that at home.”

Memphis scored 31 points at the free-throw line in Game 2 while the Clippers scored 13. The Grizzlies shot 21 more free throws than the Clippers.

”They’re physical as it is the regular season, but they’ve stepped it up in the playoffs,” Griffin said. ”Sometimes it’s tough to differentiate between that line of being extra physical and getting called for fouls. So we’ve got to find that and take it to them.

”I think it’s just about being more aggressive and taking it to them first and not have to pick that up halfway through the game. Just being the team that attacks first.”

Said Memphis center Marc Gasol: ”It’s going to be a physical series. It’s the playoffs. We don’t expect anything less than that for the next game.”

Clippers fans regularly packed Staples Center this year.

That won’t matter much to the Grizzlies.

”It’s nothing like home, but it’s nice to be on the road and try to take something from the other team,” Gasol said.

”There is definitely no difference in preparation,” coach Lionel Hollins said. ”I just think those guys are at home and we’re in a hotel. Their routines are normal and ours are a little bit different because we are in a hotel. As far as the preparation, the practice, the mental part of it, outside of that, it’s all the same.”

Clippers forward Caron Butler practiced Friday on a limited basis while wearing a brace on his broken left hand. Coach Vinny Del Negro said he received a good report from a hand specialist and isn’t ruling Butler out. The coach said he’ll decide Butler’s status on Saturday.

”Caron is a tough guy, he’s a battler, he wants to be out there,” Del Negro said. ”But we also want to be smart about it, so I’ll evaluate it tomorrow. It was good to see him out there. I think it gives ours guys a boost because he is such a big part of our team. I give him a lot of credit for even being out there.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Grizzlies are continuing their winning ways headed into the post-season even if the recent performances aren’t exactly stellar.

The Grizzlies almost let a 12-point lead evaporate in the final 4 minutes before holding on for their fourth straight victory, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 93-89 on Saturday night.

Rudy Gay scored 21 points and had a key block in the final seconds to preserve the Memphis victory as the Trail Blazers scored 10 straight points down the stretch. Gay, who was 9 of 16 from the field, turned away Wesley Matthews’ 3-point attempt with about 5 seconds left to seal the win and send the short-handed Trail Blazers to their fifth straight loss.

It marked the second straight night Memphis has struggled against a sub-.500 team. The Grizzlies had to battle in the fourth quarter Friday night before winning 85-80 at Charlotte.

“Sometimes, we play to the level of our opponents,” said Memphis centre Marc Gasol, who had 12 points. “If we play a good team, we play a lot better. If we play the not-so-good teams, we play to their level. That’s a part of the process of getting better and being a good team. At least, we get up at the end and realize that we’ve actually got to win.”

O.J. Mayo scored 14 points for Memphis, Marreese Speights had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Dante Cunningham finished with 12 points.

“Right now, we’re just trying to continue to build and get better for these playoff runs,” Cunningham said. “Just trying to sharpen all our tools and make sure everything is right going into the playoffs.”

J.J. Hickson had 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead Portland, while Jamal Crawford had 21 points despite going 5 of 13 from the field, part of the Trail Blazers’ 37 per cent shooting for the game. Matthews had 16 points and Luke Babbitt added 10.

Hickson’s performance continued a nice run for the fourth-year forward out of North Carolina State. He entered the game averaging 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in the 14 games since he was signed off waivers by the Blazers on March 21.

“I thought J.J. had a great night, especially on the boards” Portland coach Kaleb Canales said. “He ended up with seven offensive rebounds. J.J. has been terrific for us, and we are excited to have him.”

The win kept Memphis’ hopes alive to try to reach the fourth seed in the Western Conference that would mean homecourt advantage in the first round. The Grizzlies moved within a half-game of the idle Los Angeles Clippers, who hold the fourth spot.

Memphis dominated inside holding a 58-32 advantage in the paint, and seemed in control until a final Portland burst late in the fourth quarter.

Hickson scored seven early points in the fourth, part of a 10-2 run that pulled Portland within 83-77 with about 7 minutes left.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins responded by putting his starters back in the game. The Grizzlies rebuilt the lead to double digits as Gay scored inside and Gasol had two baskets.

Still, the Trail Blazers pushed back with 10 straight points and trailed 91-89 with 10.1 seconds left and they had the ball.

But after Gay blocked Matthews’ 3-point attempt with about 5 seconds remaining, Mayo hit two free throws with 3.2 seconds left for the final margin.

“I was just trying to make a play,” Gay said of the block. “I wanted to body him up and try to contest the shot. Obviously, he’s one of those guys who can hit that shot, so I kind of knew he was going to shoot it.”

The Portland push that fell just short still made for a valiant effort from the Trail Blazers, who were short-handed and playing without key pieces, such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Przybilla and Raymond Felton. Nicolas Batum, the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.9 points a game, was with the team but did not dress against Memphis with left quadriceps tendinitis.

“We just knew we had to give ourselves a chance,” Crawford said. “We are banged up. Everybody is banged up. We are missing a lot of key guys.”

Memphis led 54-45 at halftime, bolstered by Mayo’s nine points in the second quarter. The Grizzlies outscored Portland 30-18 in the period, erasing an early deficit.

Memphis connected on its first five shots in the game, but managed to shoot 49 per cent in the half. The Blazers, meanwhile, were at 38 per cent. Seven turnovers, leading to 10 Memphis points, also hindered Portland, while Memphis committed three miscues.

Portland would end the game with 15 turnovers compared to 10 for Memphis.

The Trail Blazers were within striking distance at the end because they outscored Memphis 22-14 in the final period as the Grizzlies shot only 24 per cent in the quarter.

“We held a very good team to 14 points in the fourth quarter,” Canales said. “That is the defence that I am talking about, continuing to build. We responded in the second half.

“We put ourselves in a good position down the stretch, but just didn’t make enough good plays.”

Memphis has won 14 of its last 18 games, a stretch that included road wins at Oklahoma City, Miami and in Los Angeles over the Lakers. The Grizzlies also have home wins over Dallas and the Clippers.

“Those are the kind of games these guys get up for,” Hollins said. “Then after we had that stretch of those teams, all of a sudden, we get a stretch of a bunch of teams that aren’t in the playoffs. I can’t say we struggled. We haven’t been as focused to go out and dominate them. But we won the game, and that’s also important.”

Notes: C Hasheem Thabeet, the second overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Grizzlies, started for Portland, his second start of the season. … Portland, facing all kinds of injury problems, dressed only nine players. … The Trail Blazers entered the game with a three-game winning streak in the series. … Memphis F Zach Randolph did not play. Asked about it before the game, Randolph said “rest.” The stat sheet said “DNP-Coach’s Decision.”… .Memphis has won a season-high nine consecutive home games. … Hickson’s 13 rebounds matched his season high.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies are continuing their winning ways headed into the postseason even if the recent performances aren’t exactly stellar.

The Grizzlies almost let a 12-point lead evaporate in the final 4 minutes before holding on for their fourth straight victory, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 93-89 on Saturday night.

Rudy Gay scored 21 points and had a key block in the final seconds to preserve the Memphis victory as the Trail Blazers scored 10 straight points down the stretch. Gay, who was 9 of 16 from the field, turned away Wesley Matthews‘ 3-point attempt with about 5 seconds left to seal the win and send the short-handed Trail Blazers to their fifth straight loss.

It marked the second straight night Memphis has struggled against a sub-.500 team. The Grizzlies had to battle in the fourth quarter Friday night before winning 85-80 at Charlotte.

”Sometimes, we play to the level of our opponents,” said Memphis center Marc Gasol, who had 12 points. ”If we play a good team, we play a lot better. If we play the not-so-good teams, we play to their level. That’s a part of the process of getting better and being a good team. At least, we get up at the end and realize that we’ve actually got to win.”

O.J. Mayo scored 14 points for Memphis, Marreese Speights had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Dante Cunningham finished with 12 points.

”Right now, we’re just trying to continue to build and get better for these playoff runs,” Cunningham said. ”Just trying to sharpen all our tools and make sure everything is right going into the playoffs.”

J.J. Hickson had 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead Portland, while Jamal Crawford had 21 points despite going 5 of 13 from the field, part of the Trail Blazers’ 37 percent shooting for the game. Matthews had 16 points and Luke Babbitt added 10.

Hickson’s performance continued a nice run for the fourth-year forward out of North Carolina State. He entered the game averaging 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in the 14 games since he was signed off waivers by the Blazers on March 21.

”I thought J.J. had a great night, especially on the boards” Portland coach Kaleb Canales said. ”He ended up with seven offensive rebounds. J.J. has been terrific for us, and we are excited to have him.”

The win kept Memphis’ hopes alive to try to reach the fourth seed in the Western Conference that would mean homecourt advantage in the first round. The Grizzlies moved within a half-game of the idle Los Angeles Clippers, who hold the fourth spot.

Memphis dominated inside holding a 58-32 advantage in the paint, and seemed in control until a final Portland burst late in the fourth quarter.

Hickson scored seven early points in the fourth, part of a 10-2 run that pulled Portland within 83-77 with about 7 minutes left.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins responded by putting his starters back in the game. The Grizzlies rebuilt the lead to double digits as Gay scored inside and Gasol had two baskets.

Still, the Trail Blazers pushed back with 10 straight points and trailed 91-89 with 10.1 seconds left and they had the ball.

But after Gay blocked Matthews’ 3-point attempt with about 5 seconds remaining, Mayo hit two free throws with 3.2 seconds left for the final margin.

”I was just trying to make a play,” Gay said of the block. ”I wanted to body him up and try to contest the shot. Obviously, he’s one of those guys who can hit that shot, so I kind of knew he was going to shoot it.”

The Portland push that fell just short still made for a valiant effort from the Trail Blazers, who were short-handed and playing without key pieces, such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Przybilla and Raymond Felton. Nicolas Batum, the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.9 points a game, was with the team but did not dress against Memphis with left quadriceps tendinitis.

”We just knew we had to give ourselves a chance,” Crawford said. ”We are banged up. Everybody is banged up. We are missing a lot of key guys.”

Memphis led 54-45 at halftime, bolstered by Mayo’s nine points in the second quarter. The Grizzlies outscored Portland 30-18 in the period, erasing an early deficit.

Memphis connected on its first five shots in the game, but managed to shoot 49 percent in the half. The Blazers, meanwhile, were at 38 percent. Seven turnovers, leading to 10 Memphis points, also hindered Portland, while Memphis committed three miscues.

Portland would end the game with 15 turnovers compared to 10 for Memphis.

The Trail Blazers were within striking distance at the end because they outscored Memphis 22-14 in the final period as the Grizzlies shot only 24 percent in the quarter.

”We held a very good team to 14 points in the fourth quarter,” Canales said. ”That is the defense that I am talking about, continuing to build. We responded in the second half.

”We put ourselves in a good position down the stretch, but just didn’t make enough good plays.”

Memphis has won 14 of its last 18 games, a stretch that included road wins at Oklahoma City, Miami and in Los Angeles over the Lakers. The Grizzlies also have home wins over Dallas and the Clippers.

”Those are the kind of games these guys get up for,” Hollins said. ”Then after we had that stretch of those teams, all of a sudden, we get a stretch of a bunch of teams that aren’t in the playoffs. I can’t say we struggled. We haven’t been as focused to go out and dominate them. But we won the game, and that’s also important.”

Notes: C Hasheem Thabeet, the second overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Grizzlies, started for Portland, his second start of the season. … Portland, facing all kinds of injury problems, dressed only nine players. … The Trail Blazers entered the game with a three-game winning streak in the series. … Memphis F Zach Randolph did not play. Asked about it before the game, Randolph said ”rest.” The stat sheet said ”DNP-Coach’s Decision.”… .Memphis has won a season-high nine consecutive home games. … Hickson’s 13 rebounds matched his season high.

J.J. Hickson scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford had 21 points but the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers 93-89 in Memphis on Saturday.

Wesley Matthews had a chance to give the Blazers the lead with 3.8 seconds to go, but his long-range jump shot was blocked by Rudy Gay.

The Grizzlies, looking for home-court advantage in the playoffs, have won their ninth game in a row at home, and beat Portland for the first time in three meetings this season.

The Grizzlies hassled Portland into 15 turnovers and Memphis shot 44 percent from the floor. They outscored Portland 30-18 in the second quarter and led by as much as 15 points before the fourth quarter began.

Gay finished with 21 points for Memphis (39-25) and O.J. Mayo added 14 points. Marreese Speights 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Portland (28-36) led through early in the second quarter, when Mayo’s layup gave Memphis a 28-27 lead two minutes in. From there, the Grizzlies outscored the Blazers 26-18 and led 54-45 at halftime.

The Blazers came into Memphis with nine players available — starters Matthews, Hickson, Nolan Smith, Hasheem Thabeet and Luke Babbitt, along with Kurt Thomas, Crawford, Jonny Flynn and Craig Smith.

Memphis already had clinched a playoff berth Wednesday night with a 103-91 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Raymond Felton and Joel Przybilla did not travel with the team to Memphis, but could join the Blazers for Sunday’s game at San Antonio. Felton left to attend his uncle’s funeral in South Carolina and Przybilla stayed in Portland to recover from bronchitis.

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