Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Rudy Gay leaves it late as Memphis Grizzlies defeat Miami Heat

? Gay lands buzzer-beater to end Memphis's losing streak
? Toronto Raptors land Peja Stojakovic in five-man trade

Rudy Gay landed a 15-foot buzzer-beater over LeBron James to end the Memphis Grizzlies' five-game losing streak with a 97-95 win over Miami Heat on Saturday.

Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies (5-9) with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Mike Conley had 16 points and Gay added 15 as Memphis snapped the Heat's three-game winning streak.

"This was the most unified we've been," said Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins. "That's how you win tough, close games, everybody rooting for each other, everybody picking each other up."

It was a tight contest throughout with the teams trading the lead constantly in a back-and-forth second half.

"That's a tough loss," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We just could not find a way to get over the hump."

James and Chris Bosh carried the Heat (8-5) in the absence of Dwyane Wade, who did not play due to a left wrist injury. James scored a game high 29 points and added 11 assists while Bosh scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds.

Eddie House came off the bench to score 20 points, including six three-pointers, but there was more bad news for the Heat when the forward Udonis Haslem collided with Randolph late in the third quarter and was carried off the court.

"It's huge," James said of Haslem's injury. "He's like our heart of our team. He's our power. He's our pride. He brings everything every night. Size never really matters to him. He always plays above his height, plays above his weight."

The New Orleans Hornets and the Toronto Raptors completed a five-player trade featuring the former All Star Peja Stojakovic on Saturday.

The Hornets acquired the point guard Jarrett Jack, Australian center David Andersen and guard Marcus Banks from the Raptors in exchange for the guard Jerryd Bayless and Stojakovic as well as cash considerations.

"We are excited about the players acquired today and feel that our short-term and long-term goals will benefit from this move," said the Hornets general manager Dell Demps.

"Peja has been a valued contributor as a Hornet for years and we wish both Peja and Jerryd all the best in their future and thank them for their recent contributions in helping us get off to a strong start."

Stojakovic is in his 13th season in the NBA, averaging double figures in scoring in all but one season with a career best of 24.2 points a game in 2003-04 when he was selected as a second-team All-Star. In six games this season he has averaged 7.5 points.


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