Gasol sizzling as Grizzlies face Blazers

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers know what their No. 1 defensive task will be when they play host to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Moda Center: contain Marc Gasol.

The Grizzlies' veteran center is on a roll of late, highlighted by a career-best, 42-point performance in a 101-99 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night at FedEx Forum. Gasol made 14 of 25 shots from field against the Raptors, including a career-best five 3-pointers, to go with seven rebounds.

"I shot a few, the ball went in, and then the rim got a little bigger and I just kept shooting," Gasol said. "It kept going in. I made plays when I was supposed to. I was aggressive. And when I wasn't open, I tried to make plays for somebody else."

Memphis point guard Michael Conley said, "It's so much fun to watch and to be a part of when he's playing like that. Tonight was something special. It got to the point where everybody was just trying to get him the ball, no matter where we were on the court.

"If a guy has it going, is having a great night like tonight -- you saw how excited we all were for him. It was a great night to be his teammate."

Over his past five games, Gasol is averaging 30.8 points on 53.7 percent shooting, including 41.4 percent from 3-point range. With Memphis short-handed on the front line -- starting forwards JaMychal Green and Chandler Parsons both missed the Toronto game with sore knees -- Gasol's offensive contributions are extra important.

"The last few games, I've been trying to (score) a little bit more," he said. "I'm not looking for anybody else to run the play. I'm just trying to catch it in a spot where I can read my defender, see where the double-team is coming from and make a play."

The Grizzlies (27-20) are only 5-6 in the month of January as they begin a six-game road trip in Portland.

"Going out on a trip where we know each game is going to be tougher," Conley said, "it was really good to get a win against a very good team like Toronto."

The Trail Blazers (20-27) are looking for their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 30-Dec. 5. They will be playing the game second of a five-game homestand.

"It's a great opportunity for us," point guard Damian Lillard said after Portland's 105-98 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. "We had a big win in Boston (on Sunday), a pretty good win here tonight at home, and now we have a good Memphis team coming in. That will be a test for us and a chance to take that next step to do something we haven't done in a while."

The Blazers were also without a pair of forwards on Wednesday, Moe Harkless (calf) and Ed Davis (knee).

Coach Terry Stotts was asked before the game if the current homestand is critical to Portland's playoff push.

"Given our record, at this point in the season, every week is critical," he said. "We haven't given ourselves any cushion. You want to win at home, and that makes it a little bit more of a priority. But from now on, every game takes on added importance."