Memphis, Tenn. — Brevin Knight used his start at point guard as a chance to display his skills.
Knight, who started in place of Jason Williams who was sidelined with two ingrown toenails, scored 19 points, had 15 assists and only one turnover in the Memphis Grizzlies' 119-115 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
"It was my chance to show I can play in this league," Knight said. "We stayed composed and we continued to run our stuff."
Stromile Swift scored seven of his 22 points in overtime for the Grizzlies, while Knight had five of his points in the extra period.
"I am extremely happy with all the guys," Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe said. "We need everyone all the time, certainly because of our injuries and because we are missing some guys. Stromile and Rodney (Buford) came off the bench and played well."
Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds for his 17th double-double, and 17th game of 20 or more points for Memphis.
Shane Battier added 20 points for Memphis, while Buford had 17 and Tony Massenburg 11.
Michael Olowokandi tied his career-high with 27 points, and Elton Brand added 26 for the Clippers, who started a seven-game road trip.
Brand's three-point play with 12 seconds left in regulation tied it at 100, after Knight hit two free throws with less than 30 seconds left to give Memphis a 100-97 lead.
The Grizzlies started coming on after the half, making a 36-23 run in the third quarter to end the period with a 76-75 lead on Buford's baseline jumper.
The Clippers led 52-40 at the half.
Memphis took its first lead since midway through the second quarter, 68-66, at 4:04 of the third period on a 3-pointer by Buford.
"They outplayed us in the second half. They did a great job," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said.
Jazz 101, Heat 89
Salt Lake City Bryon Russell scored a season-high 20 points to break out of a shooting slump as Utah ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over Miami.
Karl Malone, who battled foul trouble all game, scored 19 points and Jarron Collins shot 12-of-13 from the foul line for 18 points. The Jazz had lost five of six games, including back-to-back blowout losses to Sacramento.
Utah took advantage of the absence of Alonzo Mourning, who stayed at the team hotel with the flu, and shot 54.5 percent, a season-best mark for the Jazz and by a Heat opponent. Rod Strickland scored 16 points and Eddie Jones had 12, but shot just 3-of-16 from the field for Miami, which lost for just the second time in its last nine games.
Russell, who had shot 7-of-39 in his last five games and just 1-of-15 from 3-point range, connected on 5-of-9 field goals and made 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.