Warriors Fall To Grizzlies, 116-111
MEMPHIS (AP) -- Rudy Gay scored 25 points, O.J. Mayo added 23 in his new role off the bench, and the Memphis Grizzlies withstood a late rally to beat the Golden State Warriors 116-111 on Friday night.
Mayo, who served in a reserve role for the third straight game, shot 8 of 14, including 2 of 5 outside the arc as Memphis won its season-high third straight game.
Golden State center Andris Biedrins had season highs of 28 points and 21 rebounds. Stephen Curry added 26 points, while Monta Ellis added 23 points and eight assists for the Warriors.
Curry's two free throws with 11.6 seconds left pulled the Warriors within 112-111. But Gay and Mayo both hit a pair in the final 11 seconds to seal the victory.
Zach Randolph and Mike Conley had 14 points apiece for Memphis, while Marc Gasol scored 12.
Jeff Adrien had 12 points off the Golden State bench.
The Warriors played their eighth game without forward David Lee,
who is still recovering from an infected left elbow. Lee will meet the team in Minnesota on Saturday night when the Warriors face the Timberwolves.
Biedrins worked hard inside all night to provide an offensive punch and a 44-33 Golden State advantage on the boards. But it wasn't enough, as Memphis was able to keep the Warriors at bay down the stretch.
Memphis made its first five shots from the field and missed only two of the initial 11 to build an early 13-point lead. But the Warriors survived the initial Memphis flurry, and Golden State's guards got untracked from outside, hitting three of their first four shots from beyond the arc. That helped erase the Memphis lead.
Biedrins already had surpassed his season high in points midway through the second quarter and had 14 points and 11 rebounds at intermission.
Ellis led Golden State with 16 in the half, while Curry added 13, the two guards combining to hit 5 of 7 from 3-point range. But Memphis got a burst from Mayo, who hit five of his first six shots in the second quarter and scored 11 points as Memphis took a 63-53 lead at the break.
Biedrins scored 10 points in the third, but Memphis still carried an 87-82 lead into the fourth.
NOTES: Hubie Brown, who coached the Grizzlies from 2002-04 and led them to their first playoff appearance while winning coach of the year honors in the final season, received a standing ovation while calling the game for ESPN2. ... There were no further updates on the status of Memphis C Hamed Haddadi, who was arrested early Thursday on a charge of domestic assault after a fight with his girlfriend. Haddadi was inactive for the game as he was for the previous 10 games, but he was on the Memphis bench in street clothes. Ellis lives in the Eads community east of Memphis and had his teammates out for Thanksgiving dinner. Ellis bought the house, once owned by the late Lorenzen Wright, last spring, a couple of months before the former center's death. ...The Warriors are now 1-7 with Lee out. Biedrins previous high point performance was 10 on Nov. 10 against the Knicks.
