Grizzlies 98, Lakers 96
Mike Conley scored a season-high 28 points and Rudy Gay made the game-saving block as the host Memphis Grizzlies held off the slumping Los Angeles Lakers, 98-96, on Tuesday.
Gay had 14 points and a career-high six blocks and Zach Randolph added 13 and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have won four of five. The Lakers have lost three in a row.
Memphis held the lead throughout the second half and pushed it to as much as 78-65 after starting the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run. But the Lakers fought back, getting consecutive 3-pointers from Steve Blake to cut it to single digits and chipping it down to 95-91 on Lamar Odom's free throws with 1:58 left.
Conley and Ron Artest exchanged 3-pointers over the next minute and Kobe Bryant pulled Los Angeles within 98-96 with 28.2 seconds on the clock. The Lakers made a steal and had a chance for the win, but Gay blocked Artest’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Rookie Xavier Henry scored 12 points, O.J. Mayo added 11 and Marc Gasol 10 and nine rebounds for Memphis.
Bryant scored 29 points on just 9-of-25 shooting and Pau Gasol had 15 and 14 boards for Los Angeles, which held a 42-29 advantage on the glass.