Jonas Valančiūnas had a season-high 29 points (24 in the paint) and 20 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies went on a 16-3 run in the third quarter to beat the Washington Wizards 127-112.
The Wizards led 79-78 when Valančiūnas’ jumper put the Grizzlies ahead for good with 4:57 left in the third quarter. They pulled away to a 94-82 lead with 1:03 left in the quarter and led by as many as 16 in the fourth quarter.
Ja Morant had 21 points (12 in the paint) and 10 assists, and Desmond Bane added a career-high 20 points with 5 3-pointers. Bane scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Wizards, Bradley Beal had 21 points and 3 steals but shot 6 for 22, and Russell Westbrook added 20 points, 10 assists and 3 steals.
The Grizzlies shot 50.5% from the field and 34.8% from 3 to the Wizards’ 40.0% and 30.6%. The Wizards got 6 offensive rebounds, about 5 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. The Grizzlies outscored the Wizards 78-48 in the paint. The Wizards outscored the Grizzlies 17-5 in 4 minutes with Westbrook, Beal, Brown, Wagner and Avdija on the floor together. Xavier Tillman fouled out for the Grizzlies, and Moritz Wagner for the Wizards.