Jalen Johnson had 32 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to lead the visiting Atlanta Hawks to a 124-122 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
The Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak and improved their road record to 14-12.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 23 points, 12 assists and a career-high three blocks, but missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Grizzlies made 24 of 27 free throws, but all their misses came in the game’s final 30.7 seconds.
Onyeka Okongwu added 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Hawks and former Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard also contributed 18 points, including making four of his five 3-point attempts. CJ McCollum scored 15, including a key 3-pointer with 1:23 to go for a 122-118 advantage.
Memphis got 18 points from Jaylen Wells and 17 apiece from Cedric Coward and Jaren Jackson Jr. Jock Landale finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Grizzlies, playing for the first time since ending a two-game series against Orlando in Berlin and London, lost for the eighth time in 11 games. They fell to 4-11 against Eastern Conference opponents.
The game was back and forth in the fourth quarter. There were five lead changes in the opening seven minutes until Onyeka drained a 3-pointer — his fourth of the game — with 5:25 to go to give the Hawks a 111-110 lead. Atlanta never trailed again.
Trailing by seven at halftime, the Grizzlies produced a 13-4 run to open the third quarter and take a 72-70 lead. Coward had six points during the run. Memphis led most of the quarter, one in which Wells scored 12 points.
Memphis built a 12-1 lead in the game’s opening minutes only to see it erased by the Hawks, who themselves went ahead by 11 (66-55) late in the second quarter.
The Hawks led 66-59 at the half on the strength of their long-range shooting. Atlanta made 11 3-pointers in the first half, including four by Kennard.
