Memphis marches on
MEMPHIS, Tenn. » Marc Gasol couldn’t believe both defenders stayed with him when he set a pick at the foul line on the final play.
Courtney Lee couldn’t believe he was wide open under the basket for a reverse layup as the horn sounded.
And the Sacramento Kings were in disbelief that they squandered a 26-point lead and allowed the Grizzlies to convert Lee’s last-second shot into a 111-110 victory Thursday night.
"There’s not a lot words. That’s a fantastic effort to get back in that game to be down like we were," said Memphis guard Mike Conley, who led the Grizzlies with 22 points and 11 assists. "It looked grim to be honest."
The victory extended Memphis’ regular-season home winning streak to 18. But that seemed in doubt through most of the game.
The Kings dominated the game throughout and were still holding a 17-point lead with just over 7 minutes left. Memphis used a 16-1 run to cut the deficit but didn’t hold its first lead until a 3-pointer by Conley with almost 11 seconds left.
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The Grizzlies’ only other lead came on the final basket from Lee, who was wide open as he leaped through the air to catch the inbounds lob pass from Vince Carter and caromed the layup off the backboard. The ball bounced on the bracket before dropping through the net for the largest comeback in franchise history.
Lee was open because Rudy Gay and Jason Thompson both stayed with Gasol as the Grizzlies center set a pick at the top of the key.
"I was in position where I could win the game or lose the game," Lee said when asked if he got the shot off in time. "You’ve just got to go out there and try to make the right play."
The outcome still had to wait on a lengthy review by officials, who wanted to make sure the Kings didn’t tip the inbounds pass, thus starting the clock earlier, and that Lee got the shot off in time.
"We lost the game, and it didn’t come down to that last play," Kings coach Michael Malone said, later adding: "We built a 26-point lead and threw it away. We didn’t deserve to win that game."
BULLS 100, RAPTORS 93
TORONTO » Pau Gasol had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick Rose scored 20 points before leaving with a sore left hamstring, and Chicago beat Toronto, winning for the sixth time in seven games while snapping the Raptors’ five-game winning streak.
Starting his second straight game after missing four of the previous five with a pair of sprained ankles, Rose stumbled on a drive to the basket late in the fourth and was replaced by Mike Dunleavy with 1:53 left, taking a seat at the end of the bench.
MAVERICKS 123, 76ERS 70
DALLAS » Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points while playing only 20 minutes and Dallas had its largest victory ever.
The 53-point margin for Dallas surpassed its 50-point win over the New York Knicks in January 2010.
At 0-8, Philadelphia is the only NBA team without a victory. The last NBA team with a longer losing streak to begin a season was the New Jersey Nets during their record 0-19 start in 2009-10.
WARRIORS 107, NETS 99
OAKLAND, Calif. » Klay Thompson scored 25 points, Draymond Green had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Golden State snapped a two-game losing streak.
Stephen Curry added 17 points and five assists.
Brooklyn’s Jarrett Jack scored 23 points against his former team.