Conley, Green score season-bests in Grizzlies win over Timberwolves

The Memphis Grizzlies were celebrating Hardwood Classics night, but it was a newcomer who inspired the team to a 122-114 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder at FedExForum on Monday evening.

The backup combo guard, whom the Griz recently acquired in a trade with the Miami Heat, led a decisive offensive onslaught with 16 of the Grizzlies’ 43 fourth-quarter points.

Mike Conley had 22 points with 9 assists, Jeff Green scored 20, while Marc Gasol added 17. He finished with 40 points on 13-of-19 shooting to go with 14 assists. Serge Ibaka had 18 and Enes Kanter scored 16. Steven Adams and Dion Waiters finished with 14 apiece.

Oklahoma City shot 51 percent, including 10 of 24 from outside the arc.

Rubio was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a mild left hamstring strain that has sidelined him for three games so far. But Memphis converted 12 of 17 3-pointers.

“I was trying to get him in foul trouble”, Conley said. This marked just the third time in franchise history the team made at least 10 three-pointers while shooting at least 70 percent from long range – the other two instances came in 1997 while the team was located in Vancouver.

“They’re an National Basketball Association team, anybody can catch fire”, LaVine said. Kyle Singler started his first game of the season in Roberson’s spot.Rookie Cameron Payne is from Memphis and played high school ball at Lausanne, the same school Gasol attended.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, including seven during a pivotal stretch late in the fourth quarter, to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 92-86 victory over the winless Philadelphia 76ers. It was the first of eight times, Memphis will wear the red and white Sounds uniforms….

Paul Millsap had a season-high 28 points for the Hawks but failed to hit the rim on a three-point shot in the final minute and missed a 12-footer at the buzzer. The Memphis grit-and-grind approach and OKC high-scoring attack are easily cast as opposites, and the team able to enforce its style on the game usually has a great chance of winning.

The Thunder, which were playing without superstar Kevin Durant, had to rely on Russell Westbrook for much of the night. Durant’s return will obviously help matters, but the Thunder and head coach Billy Donovan have lots of questions to answer after only 11 games.