Holiday and Grant's combined offensive surge overwhelmed the shorthanded Grizzlies, extending Memphis' losing streak despite a resilient team effort.
The Memphis Grizzlies dropped their second straight game Wednesday night, falling 122-114 to the Portland Trail Blazers at FedExForum. It was the second game of a back-to-back for Memphis after a 117-110 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday, and with only eight players available, the circumstances were stacked against them from the jump.
Jrue Holiday was the difference-maker, finishing with 35 points and 11 assists. Jerami Grant added 30 points. Portland closed the game on a 24-19 run over the final nine minutes to seal it and improve to 30-33.
"I think we went to bed last night around three o'clock or something like this, so there was really no time to prepare," Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. "But the guys still showed up."
Seven Memphis players scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough. Jaylen Wells led the way with 24 points. GG Jackson added 20. Olivier-Maxence Prosper — who signed a multi-year contract extension earlier in the day — posted 17 points and nine rebounds in his eighth start of the season. Jahmai Mashack came off the bench for 13 points, while Cam Spencer had 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Walter Clayton Jr. added 12, and Javon Small chipped in 11.
The loss dropped Memphis to 23-38 and marked their ninth defeat in 12 games.
Ja Morant missed his 18th consecutive game with a left elbow injury, and Zach Edey is done for the season after undergoing left ankle surgery earlier in the week. With the frontcourt depth stripped down to almost nothing, Iisalo has had to put players in roles that don't match their natural position — including sliding Mashack, a 6-foot-3 guard, into screening and rolling responsibilities more typically associated with a big.
"It's definitely not his natural position," Iisalo said. "But we saw already in summer that he has a good feel for screening, and it also helps keep some of our other guys in their more natural positions, so not everybody has to change their role."
Iisalo also pointed to Mashack's defensive versatility as a key factor in making the unconventional lineups functional.
"He's very flexible defensively, where we like the fact that when he's on the opposing five, he can switch out onto the primary ball handlers and there's very little loss there," he said. "He's shown in matchups already, even in a short time with us — against someone like Jokić, for example — how he's able to get around guys and be very disruptive."
Mashack knocked down three 3-pointers on Wednesday, something Iisalo flagged as another weapon Memphis can exploit when opponents lose track of him.
"He's making the other team pay for leaving him open," Iisalo said.
Despite the defeat, Iisalo credited the group's effort given the circumstances and pointed to Memphis holding its own in the possession game for stretches, which he identified as the primary concern heading into the night.
"I thought we did especially well in the possession game, which was the biggest challenge going into this," he said. "In the end, their vets — Grant and Holiday — just made one tough shot after another, and we really couldn't get them out of range."
Robert Williams III added 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Portland. Matisse Thybulle contributed on his 29th birthday.
Memphis hosts the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.