Grizzlies 103, Suns 97
PHOENIX -- Lance Stephenson and Jordan Farmar combined for 21 fourth-quarter points, and the Memphis Grizzlies avoided a third loss to the Phoenix Suns within a month by posting a 103-97 win Monday.
Stephenson finished with a team-high 16 points, and Farmar, who earlier Monday became the fifth Memphis player signed to a 10-day contract in the past 11 days, had 12 points in 23 minutes.
Zach Randolph added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who snapped a four-game road losing streak and won back-to back games for the first time since Feb. 29-March 2.
Devin Booker scored 18 points and P.J. Tucker had 15 for the Suns, who have won only seven games since Christmas but were trying to beat the playoff-bound Grizzlies for the third time since Feb. 27.
The Suns (19-51) played the second half without center Tyson Chandler, who left the game with back spasms.
Phoenix led by 11 at halftime and was in front much of the second half, taking its last lead at 97-95 on a Brandon Knight jumper with 2:12 left. However, the Suns didn't score again.
Randolph tied the game on a 4-foot scoop shot with 1:17 to go, and Stephenson put Memphis ahead to stay with a put-back of a Farmar miss with 31.3 seconds left.
Randolph had a blocked shot and Tony Allen a steal to help clinch the game for Memphis (41-30).
Tucker scored six of his 10 first-half points in the first 3:30. He set up Alex Len for a jumper that gave the Suns a 13-6 lead with 7:47 left.
Memphis scored the next eight points and took its first lead at 14-13 on a Randolph jumper. The Grizzlies made 10 of 19 shots from the floor and led by as many as five before settling for a 24-21 lead after one period.
With five reserves on the floor, the Suns answered with a 12-2 run early in the second quarter. Phoenix had five 3-pointers, including two by Ronnie Price and three straight from John Jenkins, Jon Leuer (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Chase Budinger to take their biggest lead of the half at 42-30.
The Phoenix bench contributed 23 points in the first half, and the Suns led 50-39 at intermission. Phoenix had 15 baskets in the first half, and 10 players had at least one.
The Grizzlies bounced back with a 31-point third quarter. Ray McCallum had eight points in the period, including a 3-pointer during an early 10-0 Memphis run. The Suns' lead was cut to one point twice and was 73-70 after three quarters.
Stephenson produced seven of Memphis' first 10 points of the fourth, and his three-point play with 9:20 left gave the Grizzlies an 80-79 lead.
NOTES: G Jordan Farmar, whom Memphis signed on Monday, is the fifth player the injury-riddled Grizzlies signed to a 10-day contract in the last 11 days. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Turkey earlier this season. ... Suns C Alex Len averaged 20.5 points and 16 rebounds in the previous two meetings with the Grizzlies. He had nine points and six boards Monday. ... Memphis F Zach Randolph's first career triple-double (28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday) came in his 974th NBA game. That set the NBA record for the most games played before getting a triple-double. Hall of Famer Karl Malone had held the record at 860 games. ... Suns F Mirza Teletovic is four 3-pointers shy of tying Danny Ainge's franchise record for the most 3-pointers by a bench player (150).