Desmond Bane scored nine of his game-high 38 points in the final 2:50 to lift the visiting Memphis Grizzlies past the Detroit Pistons 109-103 on Saturday.
Jaren Jackson Jr. added 27 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis (46-32), which won its ninth straight game against the Pistons. Grizzlies big man Zach Edey finished with a career-high 21 boards and a team-high six assists. Scotty Pippen Jr. finished with 15 points.
Cade Cunningham, who returned after missing the past six games with a bruised left calf, led the Pistons (43-35) with 25 points and nine rebounds. Ausar Thompson had 18 points and 11 boards and Isaiah Stewart finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Pistons had already clinched their first playoff spot in six seasons the night before with a 117-105 victory over Toronto. They are assured of at least a sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Grizzlies remain in a late-season battle to escape the play-in tournament, ending Saturday night tied for sixth in the Western Conference. Teams that finish seventh through 10th participate in the play-in.
Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant was a late scratch, downgraded from starter to questionable just 30 minutes before tipoff. He sat out because of what the Grizzlies’ television broadcast team reported as food poisoning.
Detroit was without big man Jalen Duren, who missed the game with a right leg contusion.
Bane’s 18-foot jumper with 2:50 left gave Memphis a 99-94 lead. He added a 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds to go for a 104-98 Grizzlies advantage and his two free throws with 19.1 seconds remaining put Memphis ahead 107-100.
Memphis led by as many as nine points early in the third quarter behind Bane and Jackson Jr., but Detroit closed strong. A 10-0 run gave the Pistons a 72-70 lead following a shot by Thompson with 1:15 to go. Paul Reed’s baseline jumper ended the third quarter and put the Pistons ahead 77-75.
Malik Beasley’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, his 300th of the season, moved him into elite company. He became only the fourth player in NBA history with 300 or more 3s in a season, joining Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and James Harden.
–Field Level Media
