Mayo, Gay lead Grizzlies to 107-96 victory over Hornets

Mayo, Gay help Grizzlies beat Hornets

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — O.J. Mayo scored 27 points, Rudy Gay added 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Hornets 107-96 on Friday night.

Memphis built an early lead and held on to stay mathematically in the playoffs by the slimmest of margins. Another loss will end the Grizzlies’ hopes.

Sam Young finished with 19 points and seven rebounds off the Memphis bench. Mike Conley had 15 points.

Marcus Thornton led New Orleans with 19 points, while Chris Paul had 16 points and eight assists. Darren Collison scored 15, and David West finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Memphis built an early double-digit lead, and still held a 19-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter. But the Hornets made it interesting with 10 unanswered points, including six straight by Thornton, that pulled them within 101-92 with 2:33 left.

New Orleans could get no closer, assuring the Hornets (35-42) of a losing season.

Gay and Mayo provided the early scoring for Memphis with an assist off the bench from Young, who brought the fans to their feet with a one-handed rebound jam in the second quarter. The trio helped Memphis build a 20-point, first-half lead, as Mayo connected on four of his first five shots outside the arc.

Memphis took a 61-46 lead into halftime as Mayo had 19 points, while Young scored 14. Gay scored 12 points, as Memphis shot 51 percent.

A 20-point advantage seemed comfortable, but Memphis had squandered a 21-point lead against the Hornets on Jan. 31, eventually losing 109-102 in overtime, matching the second-biggest comeback in New Orleans franchise history.

The start of the second half provided some reasons it could happen again. Memphis started settling for jumpers with ineffective results. Add a half-dozen Memphis turnovers, and the Hornets quickly cut the lead to 10 points.

New Orleans continued to chip away, eventually getting within eight, but Memphis carried an 86-71 lead into the fourth.

NOTES: The Grizzlies announced earlier Friday that they have shut down C Marc Gasol (partially torn neck muscle) and F/G Ronnie Brewer (hamstring injury) for the rest of the season. Both tried to return after they were originally hurt, but aggravated the injuries. With 20 points, Gay passed Mike Miller for the third spot on the Grizzlies career scoring list. The Grizzlies are 13-1 at home against teams with losing records. Memphis G Marcus Williams hit a runner early in the second quarter, his first field goal in the last five games, going 0 for 9 in that span dating to March 20. The Hornets, who were 4-12 in March, have lost 11 of their last 12 on the road.