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Grizzlies 98, Knicks 93
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Point guard Mike Conley scored 22 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter, in his first game back from an ankle injury and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New York Knicks 98-93 on Tuesday night at FedExForum.
Conley had missed seven games with an ankle sprain and the rust showed at times. But Conley and swingman Mike Miller (19 points, nine in the fourth quarter and 5-for-7 from 3-point range for the game) brought the Grizzlies back from a seven-point deficit with 5:39 to play.
After trailing by 13 at the half, the Knicks outscored the Grizzlies 27-16 in the third quarter and were only down 66-64 going into the fourth quarter. A 20-11 run put the Knicks up 84-77 with 5:39 remaining.
Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 23 points, scoring 14 in the fourth quarter, and hit 4-of-9 3-point shots.
New York forward Carmelo Anthony had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Pablo Prigioni had 10 assists, seven points and five rebounds.
The Knicks (20-33) trailed 96-93 with 21 seconds left after two Conley free throws. Hardaway Jr. and Prigioni each missed 3-point attempts, shooting guard Courtney Lee grabbed the rebound and then hit two free throws to close things out for Memphis.
The Grizzlies (30-23) led by as many as 18 points in the first half. A jumper from forward Tayshaun Prince put Memphis up 45-27 with 4:13 left in the second quarter.
The Knicks outscored the Grizzlies 10-5 to close the quarter and Memphis carried a 50-37 lead into halftime.
Anthony struggled in the first half, hitting just 3-of-10 shots from the field and 3-of-6 from the free-throw line for nine points. It was symptomatic of the team as New York shot 34.1 percent from the field (14-for-41) and whiffed from 3-point range (0-for-9).
Memphis shot 52.5 percent from the floor in the first half (21-for-40). Forward Zach Randolph scored nine, Prince had eight and Miller added eight off the bench, including two 3-pointers.
NOTES: Knicks F Carmelo Anthony set an NBA record by knocking down eight 3-pointers in the NBA All-Star Game. He scored 30 points to help the East win for the first time since 2010. … A report from Yahoo.com indicated that Memphis and Minnesota are in trade talks before Thursday’s deadline and considering a deal that would have Memphis SF Tayshaun Prince and SG Tony Allen going to the Timberwolves for F Chase Budinger and G J.J. Barea. “News to me,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said. … Memphis PG Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an ankle sprain. … The Knicks’ pregame notes package said the team was “enjoying a winning new year.” Yet before Tuesday’s game, the Knicks were 11-11 (.500) since Jan. 1. However, that was a big improvement from 9-21 through the first 32 games of the season.
