Grizzlies 90, Pelicans 88
Mike Conley hit the game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds remaining as visiting Memphis stormed back to stun New Orleans for its fifth consecutive victory.
Coming out of a timeout following Anthony Morrow's miss from 3-point range, Conley knocked down a floater from in close to put the Grizzlies ahead for the first time since early in the second quarter. The Pelicans couldn't get off a final shot, allowing the Grizzlies to hold on to beat New Orleans for the first time in four tries this season.
Conley paced a balanced attack for the Grizzlies with 16 points while Marc Gasol added 15. Anthony Davis racked up 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were without starters Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans due to illness.
After getting torched over the opening 24 minutes, Memphis tightened the defense in the third but couldn't gain much ground - closing to within three on Conley's layup before watching the Pelicans reel off seven straight points to lead 74-67 entering the fourth. James Johnson's dunk off Tony Allen's steal capped a surge that made it a one-point game with 7:15 remaining, and Memphis rallied to tie it at 88-88 on Allen's driving layup with 1:16 left.
Davis scored 14 points in the opening quarter but it was the Grizzlies
who emerged with a 28-26 lead on the strength of Nick Calathes' jumper
with 1.9 seconds remaining in the period. After a brief rest, Davis
returned midway through the second and immediately took charge, hitting a
pair of shots and adding a putback dunk off Morrow's miss as
the Pelicans carried a 57-48 advantage into the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Davis recorded his 31st double-double of the season. ... Morrow finished with 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting in place of Gordon while Al-Farouq Aminu had eight points and eight rebounds in a spot start for Evans. ... Both teams shot 4-of-18 from 3-point range.