NBA Game Summary - Memphis at Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Conley poured in a career-high 36 points with nine assists and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, 120-115, on Saturday.
Memphis, which won its fourth straight game, came out sluggish after winning a double-overtime contest in Charlotte on Friday and arriving in Philadelphia early Saturday morning.
The Grizzlies can thank Conley, who scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and tied the game with a desperation heave as the buzzer sounded in regulation.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to will my team, get my guys going as well and give ourselves a chance to win," Conley said.
Zach Randolph contributed 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Courtney Lee and Marc Gasol added 19 and 18 points, respectively, in the win.
A night after tying a season-low point total in an 88-70 loss to Brooklyn, the Sixers made one field goal over the final 6:37 of the fourth quarter, then converted just one basket in the extra session.
Michael Carter-Williams was a bright spot for Philadelphia, although he committed three of his team's six turnovers in the fourth-quarter collapse. Carter-Williams registered his fourth career triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds.
Robert Covington paced the Sixers with 24 points and Hollis Thompson tied a career high with 21 points in their third straight loss.
"That is a very cruel loss," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "I've just seen the end of the game, there are not many regrets. It's a cruel loss for a bunch of young guys that put themselves in a position to get an incredible win."
Conley opened the overtime period with a layup before Randolph converted a three-point play that made it 114-109 less than two minutes in.
Covington then hit three free throws as the only form of offense for Philadelphia over the next two-plus minutes that trimmed the deficit to four, but Conley's 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left sealed the win for Memphis.
Philadelphia brought a 12-point advantage into the fourth quarter and led 95-77 with 7:39 to go in regulation after a Tony Wroten layup.
Memphis wouldn't go away, though, as Randolph scored five straight points before Courtney Lee capped a 15-3 run that trimmed the Grizzlies' deficit to 98-92 with 4:41 left.
Covington quelled the surge, however, with four consecutive free throws to push the lead back to double digits.
Conley brought the pesky Memphis team back within five after a 3-pointer, then Covington hit two more free throws. Nerlens Noel defended the rim at the other end with a block of Conley, and Carter-Williams split a pair of free throws for a 105-97 margin with 1:54 to play.
Beno Udrih and Conley hit back-to-back 3s prior to Carter-Williams' offensive foul. Conley followed with a layup to cut the margin to 107-106.
After the Sixers nearly turned it over again on numerous occasions, Thompson converted two clutch free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining.
Out of a timeout, Gasol found Conley from the top of the key and the latter converted a running 3-pointer to send it to overtime.
Philadelphia led 28-21 after 12 minutes and went up by 11 late in the second before the Grizzlies closed to within seven, 50-43, at the half.