National Basketball Association
Memphis 95, Phoenix 93
When: 3:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 6, 2015
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials:
#26 Pat Fraher, #30 John Goble, #72 J.T. Orr
Attendance:
16022
By The Sports Xchange
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis Grizzlies forward Jeff Green's alley-oop dunk off an inbounds pass from teammate Courtney Lee with eight-tenths of a second left lifted the Grizzlies to a 95-93 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at FedExForum.
Green's game-winning dunk over former teammate Jon Leuer came after the Suns had a chance to win with 2.1 seconds left and the game tied at 93.
But guard Brandon Knight turned the ball over with eight-tenths of a second left, setting up Green's final heroics.
"I mean, I've hit a couple buzzer beaters in my career. This is up there," Green said. "It was fun. You don't like being in close games like that, but it's always fun when you can pull it out at the end and get the win.
"(Lee) said if he saw (Phoenix forward) P.J. (Tucker's) numbers he was gonna throw it up, and he did. He made a great play and I was glad it was able to work."
Green, who finished with 10 points, was one of six Grizzlies to score in double figures. Center Marc Gasol had 22 points; Lee had 18 points and six assists off the bench; and Mike Conley had 12 points and six assists for Memphis (12-9), which handed Phoenix (8-13) its fourth straight loss.
The Grizzlies improved to 18-3 since the start of last season when Lee scores 15 or more points. He scored 13 of his season-high-tying 18 in the fourth quarter, helping Memphis hold off a Phoenix squad that dropped to 1-4 on its season-long six game road trip.
But as much as the Grizzlies needed his scoring, it was Lee's picture-perfect pass to Green that was the story. Lee finished just one assist shy of tying his career high of seven.
"It was on the money, you know what I mean?" Lee said of his pass, smiling. "Credit coach (Dave Joerger). He drew up a good play at the end of the game for us to go out there and try to run. Jeff cut hard and I told him that I was gonna throw it to him if I saw P.J. Tucker's numbers, and he went up and made a play."
Said Joerger of the play: "It was just trying to get it to Jeff on the lob. They are generally a switching team, so you expect that maybe you get a (defensive) switch in that situation. (Lee) made a great pass. Jeff really launched and got it and if the pass was going to be errant, at that point Jeff can really get up there."
Eric Bledsoe's 23 points led Phoenix, which led by as many as 10 points in the first half.
Phoenix scored 12 of the game's first 14 points to open up an early 12-2 lead before Memphis responded with a 14-0 scoring run that included five points from Conley.
Despite shooting just 28 percent in the opening period, the Suns trailed by just four after a quarter (20-16).
Phoenix then erased from a 10-point second-quarter deficit, with Leuer (10 points, 11 rebounds) scoring seven points over the final 3:52 of the first half to help the Suns cut Memphis' lead to 43-41 at intermission.
But it was what the Suns didn't do at the end of the game that cost them a chance to win -- both in regulation and potentially in overtime.
"There's no way that game doesn't go into overtime, at least," Tucker said. "But the fate of the Suns right now is just crazy."
"There are times when things just aren't going right for us, and I just don't know what to say about it," Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said.
Leuer was making his fifth start of the season for Phoenix, which was without center Tyson Chandler (right hamstring strain) for the fifth straight game.
Knight had 17 points, five assists and five turnovers, including the key one with eight-tenths of a second left.
NOTES: Suns C Tyson Chandler missed his fifth straight game with a right hamstring strain. ... The Suns season-long six-game road trip wraps up with stops in Memphis on Sunday and Chicago on Monday. ... Sunday's game marked the return of Suns F Jon Leuer to FedExForum, where he played for the Grizzlies from 2013-15. Leuer made his fourth start of the season for Phoenix in a 109-106 loss at Washington on Friday, scoring 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting while surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career. ... The Suns streak of 10-plus 3-pointers ended at six games. It was the third-longest streak in team history and longest since doing so in nine straight from March 23-April 8, 2005.
Top Game Performances
Phoenix |
|
Memphis |
Eric Bledsoe 23 |
Scoring |
Marc Gasol 22 |
Eric Bledsoe 6 |
Assists |
Mike Conley 6 |
Jon Leuer 11 |
Rebounds |
JaMychal Green 9 |
Eric Bledsoe 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Mario Chalmers 4 |
Ronnie Price 2 |
Steals |
Mario Chalmers 3 |
Jon Leuer 3 |
Blocks |
Marc Gasol 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Phoenix
|
93 |
43.9 |
9-31 |
12-17 |
20 |
47 |
5 |
8 |
18 |
Memphis
|
95 |
40.0 |
5-15 |
18-24 |
23 |
46 |
5 |
8 |
13 |
Upcoming Games
-
Memphis will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .600 after a loss.
-
Phoenix will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Suns have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .417 after a loss.