-7.6°C Cloudy 
How many points do the Memphis Grizzlies need to play it safe?
It turns out 29 is the magic number, albeit just barely.
Even though the Grizzlies held a huge lead with 3:19 left in the third quarter, the New York Knicks pulled to within five points in the final minute before falling 119-112 Friday.
"It was ugly," said Memphis guard O.J. Mayo, who scored 22 points. "You're up 30, and you look up and it's a five-point ballgame."
Memphis won its third in a row, while the Knicks lost for fourth time in five games.
Zach Randolph led Memphis with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Rudy Gay added 20 points. Mike Conley had 18 points, Sam Young finished with 13, and Marc Gasol added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Bill Walker had 21 points, including 12 during New York's fourth-quarter rally. Toney Douglas added 19, also scoring a dozen in the fourth, while David Lee finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
"Toney Douglas came out and did a great job. So did Bill Walker," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "You can't play the game without much energy and hustle. You just can't do it. (Walker and Toney) came in and gave us a little bit and they fought. After we were down so much, it was hard to make it up."
Elsewhere in the NBA it was: Charlotte 106, Los Angeles Clippers 98; Cleveland 100, Philadelphia 95; Boston 122, Indiana 103; Miami 108, Chicago 95; Detroit 101, Washington 87; San Antonio 103, Minnesota 85; Denver 102, New Orleans 95; Oklahoma City 104, New Jersey 102; Milwaukee 95, Utah 87; Los Angeles Lakers 102, Phoenix 96; and Portland 110, Sacramento 94.
At New York, Memphis built its lead behind defence that led to easy baskets. The Grizzlies held the Knicks to 36 per cent shooting before the break while building a 63-42 lead at halftime. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins noted a huge difference defensively.
"Unbelievable defence in the first half; unbelievable defence in the second half," Hollins said. "One was positive. One was negative. I told the guys before the game defence was going to be the focus. If we defended them and rebounded, we could get what we wanted offensively, and that was true.
"The minute we let our guard down, and quit playing the game became a close game."
Memphis shot 55 per cent in the first half, building an early double-digit margin. Young provided a spark off the bench with his 13 points as the reserves maintained the early advantage.
"There's no excuse for our lack of energy in the first half," Lee said.
Added D'Antoni: "Nobody was hustling around the ball or playing good defence. It was malaise. We went through the motions."
Things didn't improve for New York after halftime, as the Memphis lead reached 29. The Knicks seemed to be shooting at will but unsuccessfully. At the end of the third, New York was barely over 41 per cent as Memphis held a 94-73 lead.
Memphis had six players in double figures at that point. Walker and Douglas made things interesting down the stretch.
"The game was getting out of hand. We tried to make any type of push we could, and play hard to try and cut it in half," Walker said. "We ended up making it a game."
But the Memphis advantage was too much, even when the Knicks outscored the Grizzlies 39-25 in the fourth.
"Late in the third, we got a little relaxed," Mayo said. "When you do that, they are New York, running and gunning. They cut it to 20 then from 20 to 12, 12 to seven, then seven to five.
"You're going, 'Come on clock. Get to three zeros."'
Cleveland 100 76ers 95
At Philadelphia, LeBron James had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in his return from a two-game absence, and Cleveland won for the 14th time in its last 19 road games with a victory over the 76ers.
-
Bobcats 106 Clippers 98
At Charlotte, N.C., Stephen Jackson scored 24 points and the Bobcats held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the struggling Clippers.
-
Celtics 122 Pacers 103
At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 11 assists in just three quarters as Boston snapped a two-game losing streak.
-
Heat 108 Bulls 95
At Miami, Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-high 25 points, Quentin Richardson added 23 and the Heat added to Chicago's recent run of misery.
-
Spurs 103 Timberwolves 85
At Minneapolis, Richard Jefferson had 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists in his first start in seven games to help San Antonio beat hapless Minnesota.
-
Thunder 104 Nets 102
At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 32 points, his franchise-record 36th 30-point game this season, and the Thunder held off NBA-worst New Jersey for its 16th win in 19 games.
-
Pistons 101 Wizards 87
At Auburn Hills, Mich., Will Bynum had a career-best 20 assists, Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points, and Detroit beat Washington in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference's worst teams.
-
Nuggets 102 Hornets 95
At New Orleans, Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and Denver won its fifth straight.
-
Bucks 95 Jazz 87
At Milwaukee, Ersan Ilyasova scored on a putback with 27.2 seconds remaining and the Bucks knocked off yet another NBA powerhouse.
-
Lakers 102, Suns 96
At Phoenix, Kobe Bryant had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists - along with seven turnovers - but it was the all-around game of the Los Angeles Lakers that led to an intense victory over the Suns on Friday night.
-
Trail Blazers 110, Kings 94
At Sacramento, Brandon Roy scored 28 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Kingsfor their third straight victory.
