National Basketball Association
Memphis 95, Cleveland 87
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials: #64 Justin Van Duyne, #21 Dedric Taylor, #29 Mark Lindsay
Attendance: 16424

Marc Gasol recorded 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots to help the Memphis Grizzlies post a 95-87 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Mike Conley registered 15 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies won their second straight game following a five-game slide. Kyle Anderson also scored 15 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr. and Garrett Temple added 11 apiece.

Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points off the bench for Cleveland, which lost its fourth straight game and sixth in its last seven. Collin Sexton added 16 points and Cedi Osman scored 10 for the Cavaliers, who scored just nine first-quarter points.

Cleveland, which played without guard Rodney Hood (Achilles), shot just 35.5 percent from the field and was 9 of 29 from 3-point range. The Cavaliers owned a 53-34 edge on the boards, with Ante Zizic leading the way with a career-best 11.

The Grizzlies shot 50 percent from the field and were 5 of 22 from behind the arc.

Cleveland recovered from its early game woes to pull within 82-75 on Osman's basket with 3:32 left. Memphis pushed its lead back to 10 before Sexton, Clarkson and Osman all made shots to pull the Cavaliers within 86-82 with 1:19 remaining.

Conley answered with a layup with 59.9 seconds left and added two free throws with 46.1 seconds remaining as the Grizzlies stretched their lead to eight. Anderson split two free throws and Gasol made a pair with 26.1 seconds left to make it 93-82 as Memphis closed it out.

The Grizzlies took a 65-53 lead into the fourth quarter before the Cavaliers whittled the deficit to nine.

However, Temple drained back-to-back 3-pointers and Conley knocked down a 17-footer to give Memphis a 76-59 advantage with 7:34 left.

Memphis shot 56.8 percent from the field in the first half while taking a 45-32 lead into the break. The Cavaliers shot just 28.6 percent.

The Grizzlies jumped out to a 13-1 lead as Cleveland missed its first 12 field-goal attempts. The Cavaliers' first field goal came when Channing Frye connected from 3-point range with 4:26 left in the quarter.

Cleveland was 3-of-21 shooting in the stanza. The total of nine points is the lowest scored by a Memphis opponent in any game this season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Memphis
Jordan Clarkson 24 Scoring Marc Gasol 20
Collin Sexton 6 Assists Mike Conley 8
Ante Zizic 11 Rebounds Marc Gasol 9
Collin Sexton 4 Free Throws Made Marc Gasol 7
Jordan Clarkson 3 Steals Kyle Anderson 3
Alec Burks 1 Blocks Marc Gasol 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 87 35.5 9-29 12-15 19 53 1 9 17
Memphis 95 50.0 5-22 18-24 22 34 9 7 13
Upcoming Games
  • Memphis will play their next game at home against Boston. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .471 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .125 after a win and .259 after a loss.