OG Anunoby made a 3-pointer with 5.3 seconds remaining to lift the visiting New York Knicks past the Memphis Grizzlies 114-113 Friday night.
Ja Morant had an opportunity to win it for the Grizzlies, but his left-handed layup attempt slid off the rim at the buzzer.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists, the final assist going to Anunoby on his game-winner. Anunoby finished with 19 points and Miles McBride finished with 17 for New York, which won for the fifth time in seven games.
Morant paced Memphis with 25 points and Desmond Bane added 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 18 and had seven rebounds. Bane scored 20 or more points for the eighth time in 10 games. The Grizzlies were hampered by faulty shooting (4-of-31) from beyond the arc.
Morant had given the Grizzlies a 113-111 advantage on a three-point play with 14.4 seconds left, which came after a Brunson 3-pointer 10 seconds earlier that gave the Knicks a 111-110 lead.
The Grizzlies and Knicks were tied early in the third quarter before Memphis built a 12-point lead late in the period following a 15-4 run. Bane had 10 points in the quarter. The Knicks trimmed the Grizzlies lead to six (88-82) at the end of the quarter after a corner 3 from Brunson.
The Knicks played without rookie center Ariel Hukporti, who made his first NBA start in place of injured Karl-Anthony Towns Wednesday against the Sixers. Hukporti suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in the game against the Sixers and underwent surgery Friday. He is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
Towns was absent against Philadelphia after being injured the previous game against Boston, but returned Friday. Towns was diagnosed with left knee patellar tendinopathy and was listed as questionable before the Memphis game, but started.
New York’s Mitchell Robinson, who underwent ankle surgery in May, made his season debut. Robinson entered the game with 7:17 to go in the opening quarter. He played 12 minutes and finished with six points and five rebounds.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Robinson would be used in “short stints for a while just to see where he is. He’s been out for a long time.”
The Grizzlies led 59-56 at the half and never trailed in the opening two quarters.
