Hornets 103, Grizzlies 102 (OT)
Reserve Marcus Thornton scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a layup with 6.6 seconds left, to give the host New Orleans Hornets a 103-102 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
Chris Paul had 20 points and 12 assists and David West had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets (27-16), who trailed by 15 points in the third quarter and eight early in the fourth period.
It was the Hornets' third overtime game in last five contests. They improved to 3-1 overall in OT.
Rudy Gay had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Mike Conley also scored 22 for the Grizzlies (19-23), who lost for the fourth time in their last six games.
Zach Randolph’s basket with 6:52 left in the third quarter gave Memphis a 64-49 lead before it went scoreless for nearly five minutes. Thornton’s steal and dunk capped a 9-0 run and gave New Orleans an 82-81 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets trailed by four points in overtime before Paul drained a long 3-pointer. New Orleans deflected and stole the inbounds pass, leading to Thornton's layup. Gay missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Emeka Okafor had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, including a free throw with 23 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
New Orleans, which leads the NBA in defense, improved to 3-9 when its opponent reaches 100 points.
Randolph had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double and Marc Gasol had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis.