Valanciunas, Grizz overcome Harden's 57 for OT win

Jonas Valanciunas' offensive rebound and free throw with 0.1 second left in overtime helped the host Memphis Grizzlies topple the Houston Rockets 126-125 on Wednesday at FedExForum. Valanciunas paired a career-high 33 points with 15 rebounds and teamed with Mike Conley (35 points, eight assists) to help Memphis fend off James Harden and the rallying Rockets. Valanciunas corralled a miss by Conley before absorbing a foul from Houston center Clint Capela on the game's deciding play. That followed an MVP-caliber stretch from Harden, who scored 18 of his game-high 57 points in the fourth quarter before adding eight points during a 28-second stretch in overtime.

Memphis averted a four-game season series sweep against Houston, which lost for just the third time since the All-Star break. Former Rockets forward Chandler Parsons drilled two 3s in overtime to keep the Grizzlies in control as Harden nearly resurrected Houston again. Harden gave the Rockets their first lead with a block and transition layup at the 3:24 mark of overtime. The Rockets trailed 104-87 with less than seven minutes remaining before fashioning a 17-2 run capped by a Harden 3 with 3:22 left that cut the deficit to two points. Conley responded with a pair of baskets that helped rebuild the margin to 112-107, but Harden sent the game into overtime by sinking three free throws with four seconds left after absorbing a foul from Justin Holiday. It was Holiday who hit two free throws with 5.6 seconds left in the fourth for a 115-112 lead.

Chris Paul added 18 points and seven assists but shot 6 of 17 while Capela posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who were without guard Eric Gordon (rest) and forward Kenneth Faried (sore knee). Harden was 9 of 17 on 3s. Memphis led by as many as 19 points. Conley and Valanciunas combined to shoot 10 of 10 for 26 points in the first quarter. Conley was 4-for-4 from behind the arc and closed the first half 5 of 5 on 3s. He shot 7 of 7 overall before missing a buzzer-beating attempt at the close of the first half, posting 21 points before the break. Valanciunas, meanwhile, scored 19 points in the first half and was 6 of 6 from the floor. He also started 7 of 7 from the line before missing a free throw with 1:10 left in the half.

--Field Level Media

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