NBA Scores 2015: Never count out the Grizzlies and 3 other things we learned Sunday

The Portland Trail Blazers needed a win over the Memphis Grizzlies. They had lost the first two meetings against the Grizzlies this season and a win over a Western Conference power would bode well for a team that had lost 10 of 16 games. Portland led by 13 in the fourth quarter and appeared well on their way to a big win. Then Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies took over, storming back to outscore the Trail Blazers 34-15 in the final frame to stun Portland, 98-92.

Gasol led the way with 21 points in yet another grind-it-out win for the Grizzlies. All five starters scored in double figures. Zach Randolph had 15 points and nine rebounds. Memphis joined the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors as the only teams in the league with 40 wins, climbing to 40-14.

Even in a loss, Damian Lillard led the way as usual for the Trail Blazers, scoring 18 points and dishing out seven assists. Portland was without LaMarcus Aldridge, who sat out with a thumb injury. The Trail Blazers' bench did step up, chipping in 36 points. In his first game as a Blazer since being traded, Arron Afflalo had eight points on 2-of-6 shooting in 24 minutes. The Trail Blazers hit 13-of-33 three-point shots while the Grizzlies made only 3-of-9 from deep, but it wasn't enough to pick up the win.

The teams traded blows down the stretch. Nicolas Batum hit a three to give Portland the lead with less than three minutes to go. Courtney Lee made a slicing lay-up and was fouled to take the lead back. Then Gasol hit a jumper to give the Grizzlies a four-point cushion before Memphis' stingy defense shut down Portland in the final two minutes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be without Kevin Durant for a while, and that's just fine. On the day it was announced that the reigning NBA MVP underwent another foot surgery, the Thunder kept up their winning ways, taking down the Denver Nuggets, 119-94. Russell Westbrook was at it again, this time filling up the assists category on the stat sheet with 17. He had 21 points and eight rebounds for good measure in just 27 minutes. Sure, the Nuggets aren't a useful barometer of success, but the Thunder were quite fine without Durant.

Westbrook is playing the best basketball of his career and Enes Kanter, in his second game with the Thunder after being traded for on Thursday, had 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Thunder have won six straight and eight of nine. Don't look now, but they're two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the eighth playoff spot in the West. Durant is hoping to be back before the end of the regular season. This team is looking more and more like a first-round nightmare for whoever they end up facing.

The Washington Wizards continue to struggle, while the Detroit Pistons are right in the mix for a playoff spot. There are a lot of faces in new places. Reggie Jackson, who loathed another moment as a member of the Thunder, made his debut with the Pistons. He started slow, missing his first eight shots Jackson was nervous, too -- he may have puked on the sideline. Jackson made two free throws late in the half to finally score and hit a three with 15 seconds left to draw the Pistons to within 52-47 at the half. The Pistons dominated the second half thanks to a balanced attack -- six players scored in double figures -- and won, 106-89. Jackson ended the night with 17 points, five assists and five rebounds. After starting 5-23, the Pistons have won 18 of 28 to climb to 23-33, a half-game out of the eighth playoff spot in the East. The Wizards, meanwhile, have lost three in a row and eight of 10 games. At 33-23, they have the fifth-best record in the East, but are just 1.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Golden State Warriors missed Stephen Curry. The Warriors have a net rating of +17.2 when Curry is on the court, it's only +0.6 when he's off it, and his absence showed in Golden State's 104-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Warriors jumped out to a 38-26 first quarter lead, but they struggled in the final three quarters. The Warriors have shot 48.1 percent from the field on the season and 38.7 percent from deep, but they made only 38.2 percent of their shots in the loss to the Pacers. Klay Thompson had 39 points but shot only 12-of-28 from the floor. The Pacers held pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race with their win, staying a half-game out of the playoffs with a record of 23-33. Rodney Stuckey led the Pacers with 30 points.

J.R. Smith enjoyed coming back to Madison Square Garden. So did the Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat the hapless New York Knicks, 101-83. Smith had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three, and had one monstrous, reverse dunk off an alley-oop from Iman Shumpert. LeBron James was impressed.

Orlando Magic 103, Philadelphia 76ers 98 (Orlando Pinstriped Post recap | Liberty Ballers recap)

Dallas Mavericks 92, Charlotte Hornets 81 (Mavs Moneyball recap | At the Hive recap)

Los Angeles Lakers 118, Boston Celtics 111 (OT) (Celtics Blog recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)