Jeff Green scored 16 points, including two free throws with 6.2 seconds left, to help the Grizzlies hold off the Knicks 91-85 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.
Matt Barnes had 12 points and Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol each had 10 for Memphis.
Jose Calderon led the Knicks with 18 points. Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Grizzlies led by nine points in the fourth quarter but could not pull away from the Knicks, who were playing without Carmelo Anthony.
Arron Afflalo's 3-pointer brought New York within 87-85 with 35 seconds left. After Gasol missed a layup, Afflalo missed a potential tying jumper with 8 seconds remaining.
Afflalo then fouled Green, and he made his two free throws.
The Grizzlies scored the game's first 10 points and led 24-18 after the first quarter, but the Knicks opened the second quarter on a 13-4 run to take its only lead of the game.
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The Grizzlies used a 22-9 streak to take a 50-40 halftime lead.
Randolph opened the third quarter with a bucket to give Memphis a game-high 12-point lead. But the Knicks scored the next eight points, pulling within 52-48 on Langston Galloway's short floater with 7:13 left in the third.
The Grizzlies reopened a nine-point lead, but another Knicks' run culminated with Calderon's three-point play, bringing New York within 57-56 with 3:50 left in the third.
Memphis then scored the next five points, but the Knicks came back to tie the game 62-62 on Sasha Vujacic's two free throws with 1:20 remaining.
The Grizzlies ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, scored the first two points of the fourth and held the lead the rest of the way.
Afflalo finished with 14 points and Vujacic had 10 for the Knicks, who have lost eight of their last nine games.
TIP-INS:
Grizzlies: The Grizzlies host the Mavericks on Saturday night and are playing their first back-to-back games of 2016. They played 10 back-to-backs from the start of the season, but none in January. ... Memphis has reached 30 wins in their first 50 games for only the third time in franchise history. ... The Grizzlies lead their series with the Knicks 20-19, including wins in the last six meetings.
Knicks: Anthony did not dress due to a sore left knee. Lance Thomas, who had started in Anthony's place five times this season, also did not dress after suffering a mild concussion vs. Detroit on Thursday night. ... The Knicks last beat the Grizzlies on March 27, 2013, by a score of 108-101. ... Robin Lopez is the only Knick to start all 53 games this season.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Memphis hosts Dallas on Saturday night.
Knicks: New York hosts Denver on Sunday.
