Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points, Jaylen Wells added a season-high 25 and Zach Edey contributed 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead the visiting Memphis Grizzlies to a 133-128 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night in NBA Cup group play.
Vince Williams Jr., forced into playing point guard because of multiple injuries at the position, had a career-best 17 assists.
Jackson scored five of his points in overtime, including two free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining to secure the victory. Jackson was fouled after coming up with a Williams deflection on a Pelicans inbounds pass.
New Orleans opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer by Jose Alvarado for a 125-122 lead before Jackson answered with a 3-pointer. Wells made it 127-125 with 2:32 to go on a 14-footer and Cedric Coward dropped in a free throw for a 128-125 lead with 1:52 left.
Alvarado added another 3-pointer, one of six he made, to tie the game at 128-all with 1:39 remaining. But Wells broke free for a dunk for a 130-128 advantage with 47.3 seconds to go.
Alvarado paced the Pelicans with a season-high 24 points and Saddiq Bey added 18 points and 10 boards. He scored 18 points in the first half. Zion Williamson finished with 17 points.
The Grizzlies improved to 2-2 in Cup play, while New Orleans dropped to 0-4.
Edey was limited to six minutes in the team’s home loss Monday to the Denver Nuggets because of a migraine headache, but started against the Pelicans and was a factor throughout.
Memphis trailed by 10 in the third quarter and never led in the second half until the closing minutes. The Grizzlies led 122-120 with 6.4 seconds left in regulation after Edey made one of two free throws, but Williamson sent the game into overtime with a strong drive to the basket and shot he banked in with 0.9 seconds to go. Memphis couldn’t get a shot off before regulation ended.
The Pelicans were the league’s lowest-scoring team at 108.6 points per game before scoring 143 and 128 the last two outings.
–Field Level Media
