Memphis, Tennessee: Wayne Ellington drained seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points Sunday as the Memphis Grizzlies overpowered the NBA champion Miami heat 104-86.
Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike Conley also scored 18 with nine assists as the Grizzlies rolled to their fifth straight victory.
They’re off to their best start to an NBA season with a 5-1 record.
“We’re all just out here grinding and working every day,” Ellington said. “We’re taking it game by game to get wins.”
Chris Bosh led Miami with 22 points. LeBron James had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Heat saw their four-game winning streak end.
No other Miami player scored in double figures. Dwyane Wade, who sat out Friday’s game at Atlanta with a cold, came in averaging 20.4 points for the Heat but was held to eight.
The Heat had pulled within 85-76 midway through the fourth quarter when Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless turned the ball over - opening the door to a Miami fastbreak. However, as Miami’s Ray Allen went up for a lay-up, Bayless appeared and blocked the shot.
The Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay grabbed the rebound and found Ellington, who made a three-pointer shot that ignited a 13-0 scoring run.
The Grizzlies finished the game with 14 three-pointers, something the Heat admitted they weren’t expecting.
Instead, Miami had come into the contest focused on neutralizing Memphis’ inside presence of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
“We knew we were going to have a job on our hands with Z-Bo and Gasol,” James said. “They hit a few threes. Then, Wayne got going and hit some back-burning threes, as well.
“Then, they hit a few at the end of the shot clock, too. They played well. We move on to the next one.”
