Arenas, Hinrich lead Wizards over Grizzlies 89-86
Gilbert Arenas scored 24 points, Kirk Hinrich had 22, and the Washington Wizards beat the Memphis Grizzlies 89-86 on Friday night despite shooting just 38 percent.
Playing the third straight game without injured guard John Wall, the backcourt combination of Arenas and Hinrich was able to pull the struggling Wizards to their fourth win in 11 games.
The Grizzlies, who lost for the fifth straight time, were led by Zach Randolph with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Memphis' skid is the longest since early last season, and its four-game winning streak against Washington ended.
Trailing 75-71 with eight minutes to play, Arenas and Hinrich scored the next 12 points for Washington. Hinrich fed Arenas for a 3-pointer with 4:16 to play that gave the Wizards an 82-79 lead. Andray Blatche, who had 17 points, followed with a three-point play, and Washington led 85-79 with 2:53 remaining.
After Al Thornton missed a jumper with 11.9 seconds left and the Wizards ahead 89-86, Memphis had two shots to tie. O.J. Mayo, who had his worst night as a pro, and Mike Conley missed 3-point shots in the final 10 seconds.
The win came two nights after Washington lost by 31 points in Boston when Arenas shot 3 for 11.
Rudy Gay, who scored 20 or more points in Memphis' first eight games, was held to 11 points and had six turnovers. Mayo missed 10 of 11 from the field and had just three points.
Washington, which is 4-2 at home but winless in five road games, continues to have some success against the league's bottom feeders. The Wizards' four wins against Philadelphia, Houston, Toronto and Memphis have come against teams that started Friday with a combined record of 12-35.
The Wizards raced to a 19-10 lead, but managed to fritter it away by missing 12 of their 16 shots in the second quarter to trail 45-43 at the half.
Hinrich managed to keep Washington in the game in the third quarter by scoring 12 points, but Memphis led 68-66 after three.
NOTES: Wall and C Yi Jianlian missed their third straight games. Washington coach Flip Saunders said that Wall, who's been listed with a bruised left foot, "still has a little bit of a bone bruise on the inside of his ankle." If he can practice on Saturday, Saunders said he hoped Wall could play Sunday at Detroit. Yi, who has a bruised right knee, said he doubted he could play Sunday. ... Memphis G Greivis Vasquez, who was a star at the nearby University of Maryland, scored five points in his first game as a professional here. Vasquez, who was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year last season, said the hardest thing in the pros is the competition. "NBA's a better game for sure," Vasquez said. "Every night, you face a big-time guard." Vasquez was greeted by cheers each time he touched the ball and was hugged by teammate Tony Allen during the "Kiss Cam" promotion on the scoreboard.
