A huge game from Mike Conley as he had 24 points and 11 assists to lead Memphis Grizzlies to another win to remain undefeated at 5-0. They used a strong defensive effort in the third quarter against a fast and tricky Suns team to beat Phoenix 102-91.
Conley and back-court partner Courtney Lee, both coming off injuries, scored 17 of Memphis’ 30 points in the third quarter. Conley hurt his ankle in the previous game but got the start tonight as well as Courtney Lee, who missed the past two games with a concussion, who scored 22 points, with 4-of-5 shooting from 3. Marc Gasol scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Grizzlies and his front court partner, Zach Randolph, had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Eric Bledsoe made his first 8 shots for the Suns and finished with a season-high 23 points.
Markieff Morris also started the game hot, going 4-4 and had 20 points. Off the bench, point guard Isaiah Thomas added 15 for the Suns and he didn’t miss until the fourth but had a basket waved off in favor of a shot clock violation.
The Grizzlies, who won all four meetings between the two squads last season, forced 10 turnovers in the third , 20 overall for the game and turned an 11-point deficit before the end of the first half into a 5-point lead going into the fourth.
Late in the fourth, Morris hit a 3 to cut the Memphis lead to 90-83 with 4:34 to play, but Lee connected from 3 on the following possession and Memphis never looked back.
