MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jeff Green’s dunk on an alley-oop inbound pass from Courtney Lee with 0.5 seconds left gave the Memphis Grizzlies a 95-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
The Suns’ last chance to tie the game came on Eric Bledsoe’s shot from the right corner. The two-point attempt was long, sending Phoenix to its fourth straight loss despite a late rally that pulled the Suns even.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 22 points. The inbound pass from Lee capped a fourth quarter in which he scored 13 of his 18 points. Mike Conley had 12 points and Mario Chalmers finished with 11. Green and Zach Randolph scored 10 points apiece.
Bledsoe led the Suns with 23 points and six assists and also had seven rebounds. Brandon Knight scored 17 points and Mirza Teletovic had 14. Alex Len had 12, while Jon Leuer finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Memphis held a six-point lead 93-87 with 1:30 left when Gasol split a pair of free throws. The advantage was erased as the Suns pulled even at 93 on a pair of baskets by Len and another by P. J. Tucker.
Len tied the game at 93 when he tipped in a missed free throw by Leuer with 11.9 remaining. During the next Grizzlies’ possession, Len initially was called for a goaltend on Conley’s drive with 2.1 seconds left — a play reviewed by officials and overturned, leaving the score at 93-93.
On the ensuing inbound play, Knight fumbled the pass out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Grizzlies with 0.8 seconds left
Lee, inbounding the ball from the left baseline, lobbed the ball to Green curling to the right side of the basket for the winning field goal.
The game saw 13 lead changes and nine ties, the bulk of them coming in the second half.
Entering the final frame, there already were eight lead changes and six ties.
Memphis took a 43-41 lead at the break as both teams held 10-point leads in the first half.
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TIP-INS:
Suns: Tyson Chandler missed his fifth straight game with a right hamstring injury. … Leuer played more than two seasons with the Grizzlies and was given a nice ovation when he was introduced in the Phoenix starting lineup. … The Suns entered the game with the third-best percentage from 3-point range but made only one of their first 13 shots from outside the arc. They finished 9 of 31. … Phoenix will wrap up a six-game trip Monday in Chicago. The journey carried them 5,770 miles.
Grizzlies: Memphis has won eight straight in the series. … Memphis is now 11-1 when leading at the half. … Matt Barnes and Len were assessed double technicals in the third when they got tied up together.
UP NEXT
Suns: Travel to Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Grizzlies: Host Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
