MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Reserve Wayne Ellington had career bests with seven 3-pointers and 25 points, leading the Memphis Grizzlies over the Miami Heat 104-86 Sunday for their fifth straight win and the best start in franchise history. The Grizzlies (5-1) snapped Miami's four-game winning streak while topping their 4-1 start in 2000-01 — the franchise's last season in Vancouver. They also extended their own team-record home winning streak to 14 dating to last season. Rudy Gay added 21 points and Zach Randolph had his sixth double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis. Mike Conley had 18 points and nine assists, while Marc Gasol added 10 rebounds and six assists. Chris Bosh scored 22 points and LeBron James had 20 for Miami. Dwyane Wade came in averaging 20.4 points but was held to eight in his first game back after missing Friday night's win at Atlanta with a cold. Memphis never trailed and the Heat managed to tie it only twice, the last at 14-all. Lakers 103, Kings 90: Dwight Howard had 23 points and 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 20 and Los Angeles won its second game after the firing of its coach Mike Brown. Lame-duck interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff called the shots for the second straight game Friday with the team off to a 1-4 start — their worst in 19 years. They throttled Golden State 101-77 at Staples Center several hours after the change. Jimmer Fredette scored 18, and Jason Thompson had 15 points and 10 assists for the Kings. Thunder 106, Cavaliers 91: Russell Westbrook banked in a half-court shot during a rough-and-tumble 27-point outing and Kevin Durant added 26 points to lead Oklahoma City over Cleveland. Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 20 points, Alonzo Gee had 18 points and Daniel Gibson. Irving hit back-to-back 3-pointers after Oklahoma City had taken a 63-50 lead midway through the third quarter and his driving layups on consecutive possessions got Cleveland within 67-65 with 3:42 to go in the period. The Thunder never relinquished the lead, though, with Kendrick Perkins scoring inside on a basket interference call before Durant's two-handed slam. Then Westbrook took over. Nets 82, Magic 74: Brook Lopez scored 20 points, Kris Humphries added 14 points and 21 rebounds, and Brooklyn beat Orlando to complete a home-and-home sweep. Deron Williams finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a couple key plays down the stretch after what appeared to be another blowout turned into a close game. The Nets beat the Magic 107-68 at Orlando Friday and jumped out to an early 20-point lead in this one. But after losing a 22-point lead at home against Minnesota Monday, Brooklyn almost coughed up another huge cushion, letting Orlando get within five in the final 2 minutes. Glen Davis had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped four in a row. Clippers 89, Hawks 76: Blake Griffin scored 16 points, and Chris Paul had 15 points and eight assists to lead Los Angeles to a win over Atlanta. Jamal Crawford had 11 points after coming in with a team-high 21.8 average — tops among the league's reserves. Fifth-year center DeAndre Jordan, coming off the first back-to-back 20-point games of his NBA career, finished with eight points. Josh Smith had a team-high 13 points for the Hawks, who shot 41.7 percent from the field in the opener of a four-game road trip. Atlanta also committed 22 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Clippers. — Agencies
