Reserve Wayne Ellington had career bests with seven three-pointers and 25 points, leading the Memphis Grizzlies over the Miami Heat 104-86 on Sunday for their fifth straight win and the best start in the franchise’s history.
The Grizzlies (5-1) snapped Miami’s four-game winning streak while topping their 4-1 start in 2000-2001 — the franchise’s last season in Vancouver. They also extended their own team-record home winning streak to 14 dating to last season.
Rudy Gay added 21 points, while Zach Randolph had his sixth double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis. Mike Conley had 18 points and nine assists, while Marc Gasol added 10 rebounds and six assists.
Chris Bosh scored 22 points and LeBron James had 20 for Miami.
Dwyane Wade came in averaging 20.4 points, but was held to eight in his first game back after missing Friday night’s win in Atlanta, Georgia, with a cold.
Memphis never trailed and the Heat managed to tie it only twice, the last time at 14-14.
LAKERS 103, KINGS 90
In Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had 23 points and 18 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant scored 20 as Los Angeles warmed up for a possible return by Phil Jackson with a win over Sacramento.
Lame-duck interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff called the shots for the second straight game following the firing of Mike Brown on Friday, with the team off to a 1-4 start — their worst in 19 years. They throttled Golden State 101-77 at the Staples Center several hours after the change.
Jimmer Fredette scored 18, while Jason Thompson had 15 points and 10 assists for the Kings.
THUNDER 106, CAVALIERS 91
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook banked in a half-court shot during a rough-and-tumble 27-point outing, while Kevin Durant added 26 points to lead Oklahoma City over Cleveland.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 20 points, while Alonzo Gee had 18 points. Irving hit back-to-back three-pointers after Oklahoma City had taken a 63-50 lead midway through the third quarter and his driving layups on consecutive possessions got Cleveland within 67-65 with 3:42 to go in the period.
The Thunder never relinquished the lead, though, with Kendrick Perkins scoring inside on a basket interference call before Durant’s two-handed slam. Then Westbrook took over.
CLIPPERS 89, HAWKS 76
In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin scored 16 points, while Chris Paul had 15 points and eight assists to lead Los Angeles to a win over Atlanta.
Jamal Crawford had 11 points after coming in with a team-high 21.8 average — top among the league’s reserves. DeAndre Jordan, coming off back-to-back 20-point games, finished with eight points.
Josh Smith had a team-high 13 points for the Hawks, who shot 41.7 percent from the field in the opener of a four-game road trip. Atlanta also committed 22 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Clippers.
Sunday’s other result:
‧ Nets 82, Magic 74
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