In a back and forth battle, the Memphis Grizzlies topped the New Orleans Pelicans 101-99 on the 14th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day at FedExForum on Monday afternoon.
The Grizzlies (24-19) are five games above .500 for the first time this season, while the Pelicans (13-27) dropped their second game against Memphis in as many tries this season. This was Memphis’ first win on MLK Day since a Jan. 16, 2012 victory against the Bulls, and the Grizz move to 6-8 in the event.
The game was as close to even as possible, with 14 ties and 18 lead changes, and the biggest lead was eight, which the Grizzlies held in the first quarter and again at 44-36 midway through the second frame.
The Pelicans held a 76-72 lead after three quarters, and pushed the lead to five, 80-75, with 10:52 to play, their largest lead of the game. The Grizzlies would battle back to tie the game and then take the lead for good 82-81 on a pair of free throws from Jeff Green with 7:17 to play.
Despite the Grizzlies best efforts to put the game away, including extending the lead to 98-92 with just over two minutes to play, New Orleans refused to go away. Ryan Anderson drained a three-pointer to get within three, and then Anthony Davis hit a step-back to cut the lead to one.
Marc Gasol hit a pair of free throws to make it 100-97. With 13.9 seconds remaining, Courtney Lee was long on a three-point attempt, but Gasol pulled down the board and was immediately fouled. However, he missed both attempts and after a timeout, Jrue Holiday brought the Pelicans within a point 100-99 with 4.6 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Lee was fouled on the ensuing inbounds, where he knocked down the first free throw to make it 101-99. His second shot hit the back iron, and Gasol rose above the Pelicans’ star Davis to knock the ball away and run out the clock, giving Memphis the win and Gasol his ninth double-double of the season.
In his return to the starting lineup after a six-game hiatus due to a left Achilles injury, Mike Conley recorded his second double-double, scoring 15 points and dishing out 10 assists with zero turnovers. His +19 plus-minus led all players. The point guard shot 6-of-12 (50.0 percent) from the field, and 3-of-5 (60.0 percent) from three-point range, including a shot clock beater from well behind the arc.
Four Grizzlies finished with 16 points to lead the team, including starts Gasol and Lee, as well as Jeff Green and Matt Barnes.
Gasol led the team with 10 rebounds and added six assists as well.
Holiday led the way off of the bench for a Pelicans team using an NBA-leading 18th different starting lineup. The reserve guard scored 23 points on 9-of-13 field goal shooting (69.2 percent), and missed out on a double-double by a single assist. Davis was right behind him with 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds to go with three steals and three blocked shots.
The Grizzlies wrapped up their six-game home stand with a 5-1 record with the lone loss in that stretch coming to the Houston rockets. Memphis heads to Colorado for a game against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., and fans can catch the call on the radio at 92.9 FM ESPN, or on television with FOX Sports Southeast.
The Grizzlies hit the road on Thursday to take on the Nuggets at 8pm. On Saturday the team will travel to take on the Timberwolves in Minnesota at 7pm. Catch the action on FOX Sports Southeast and 92.9FM ESPN Radio.
The Grizzlies will return home on Monday, January 25 to take on the Orlando Magic.
