PORTLAND — One player was on fire.
The rest of the Portland Trail Blazers were stuck in a mire.
Wesley Matthews scored a team-high 26 points, including seven 3-pointers, in Friday’s 112-99 loss to Memphis.
But outside of Matthews the Blazers were 1 of 16 from 3-point range.
That spelled doom for a Portland team that shoots the fourth-most 3-point attempts in the NBA.
Damian Lillard, who was 1 of 6 from 3-point range, partially credited Memphis defense. But he mostly chalked it up to having an off night.
“(Memphis) tightened up a little bit, but we got a lot of open looks that we’ll take in any game,” Lillard said. “We just didn’t knock them down.”
Memphis ranks fourth in the league in defensive efficiency, allowing 98.1 points per 100 possessions. Matthews said the Grizzlies’ defense was effective “when we allowed it to be.”
“It’s not like we were shooting forced ones or difficult ones,” he said. “If you put us in the gym right now, we’d be making them left-handed.”
LaMarcus Aldridge had his second cold game in a row. He was 7 of 19 Friday, two days after shooting 3-for-18 for a season-low nine points. Aldridge has shot worse than 40 percent in three of the past four games.
Kaman comes along
Chris Kaman continues to be effective off the bench. Friday, he had 16 points and a season high 11 rebounds. The backup center has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games.
Kaman played 24 minutes, compared to 22 for starting center Robin Lopez. The Blazers had trouble keeping Memphis out of the paint, where the Grizzlies outscored the Blazers 54-38.
Fighting Northwest gloom
The Trail Blazers locker room is a brighter place these days.
Three-foot-tall light panels have been installed in three corners of the locker room. Such lights are used to ward off seasonal affective disorder brought on by lack of light in the winter.
Wesley Matthews uses a more traditional Northwest method of fighting off winter gloom: coffee.
Matthews, who takes his pregame coffee with five sugars and no cream, said Joel Freeland is the team’s biggest caffeine consumer.
Freeland denied the claim, setting off a three-minute debate among the locker room klatch.
Tip-ins
• The Blazers took Thanksgiving Day completely off.
“We’re sick of each other,” coach Terry Stotts joked.
• Actress Elizabeth Banks, whose credits include “Hunger Games” and “Modern Family,” was in owner Paul Allen’s seat.
• Sunday’s game against Minnesota is Seahawks Night. Fans will be able to see the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Moda Center.
