NBA: Grizzlies survive without Mike Conley, trounce 76ers

Despite missing the services of starting point guard Mike Conley Jr., the Memphis Grizzlies survived a hard-fought affair against the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-100, on the latter's home court, Monday (Tuesday, PHL time). The win put the Griz at 29-15, keeping them at fourth place in the Western Conference standings, while the 76ers fell back to 18-26, as they try to chase down the Boston Celtics at number eight out East. [Related: Grizzlies end Brooklyn's bright start to 2013] Conley was out, resting a sprained left ankle, but in his place, Jerryd Bayless performed admirably, with 21 points and nine assists, one of three Grizzlies to break the 20-point barrier. Trailing by 13 points at the end of the first quarter, 33-20, Memphis righted their ship by the halftime break, using a 37-21 second period to take a three-point lead at the intermission, 57-54. A back-and-forth third saw four lead changes and five deadlocks, resetting the table at 79-all, a quarter left to play. Four minutes in, yet another tie was produced, 90-all, 8:09 left. A jumper by Spencer Hawes and a pull-up by All-Star reserve Jrue Holiday put the home team up by three, 98-95, at the 4:22 mark. A fadeaway by Marc Gasol got Memphis within a point, but Holiday scored via another jump shot to restore their three-point lead. Two consecutive offensive put-backs by Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay put the Grizzlies ahead, 101-100 with 13.3 ticks left. Off a timeout, Thaddeus Young was unable to put his side back in front anew, missing a six-foot shot. Forced to foul, Philadelphia sent Rudy Gay to the line, where the forward was steady on both charities. With 1.2 seconds to play, Nick Young had a look at an overtime-forcing trey, but Marc Gasol was there with the block, to secure the victory. Gasol led the way for Memphis, with 27 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. Rudy Gay added 26 markers, seven boards and five dimes, plus another rejection. Zach Randolph scored a mere four, but hauled in 12 rebounds. Evan Turner matched Gasol's production with 27 of his own markers, in addition to seven assists. Thaddeus Young added 23, while the backcourt of Nick Young and Jrue Holiday combined for 31 points, with Holiday also dishing out 10 extra passes. Both teams shot well over 50 percent, but the Grizzlies were a scorching 8-of-13 from downtown, easily bettering the 76ers' mark of 4-of-9. Memphis also got a 14-to-4 advantage in second-chance points, owing to their beefier frontline. - AMD, GMA News