Ellington hot as Grizzlies torch Heat 104-86

MEMPHIS: Wayne Ellington drained seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points Sunday as the Memphis Grizzlies overpowered the NBA champion Miami heat 104-86.
Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike Conley also scored 18 with nine assists as the Grizzlies rolled to their fifth straight victory.
They’re off to their best start to an NBA season with a 5-1 record.
“We’re all just out here grinding and working every day,” Ellington said. “We’re taking it game by game to get wins.”
Chris Bosh led Miami with 22 points. LeBron James had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Heat saw their four-game winning streak end.
No other Miami player scored in double figures. Dwyane Wade, who sat out Friday’s game at Atlanta with a cold, came in averaging 20.4 points for the Heat but was held to eight.
The Heat had pulled within 85-76 midway through the fourth quarter when Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless turned the ball over — opening the door to a Miami fastbreak.
However, as Miami’s Ray Allen went up for a layup, Bayless appeared and blocked the shot.
The Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay grabbed the rebound and found Ellington, who made a three-pointer shot that ignited a 13-0 scoring run.
The Grizzlies finished the game with 14 three-pointers, something the Heat admitted they weren’t expecting.
Instead, Miami had come into the contest focused on neutralizing Memphis’ inside presence of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
“We knew we were going to have a job on our hands with Z-Bo and Gasol,” James said. “They hit a few threes. Then, Wayne got going and hit some back-burning threes, as well.
“Then, they hit a few at the end of the shot clock, too. They played well. We move on to the next one.”
Lakers 103 Kings 90: In Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had 23 points and 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 20 and the in-transition Los Angeles Lakers continued warming up for a possible return by Phil Jackson with a victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Lame-duck interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff called the shots for the second straight game following the firing of Mike Brown on 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.
Jason Thompson had 15 points and 10 assists for Sacramento before fouling out with 9:46 left in the game. Jimmer Fredette scored a team-high 18 points, most coming after the outcome was long decided.
Lakers appoint D’Antoni as new coach
Meantime, the Los Angeles Lakers have appointed Mike D’Antoni as their new coach on a multi-year contract, the NBA team’s spokesman John Black announced.
D’Antoni takes over from Mike Brown, who was sacked last Friday.
The underachieving team is due to hold a press conference to announce the deal either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash have both supported the appointment, according to the Lakers’ website on Monday.
Nash played for D’Antoni in Phoenix when the point guard won consecutive MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. The news brings to an end speculation that retired former coach Phil Jackson was the front runner for the post.
Thunder 106 Cavaliers 91: In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook banked in a half-court shot during a rough-and-tumble 27-point outing, Kevin Durant added 26 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Westbrook, a career 29 percent shooter from 3-point range, had made just 6 of 24 behind the arc to start the season and coach Scott Brooks suggested before the game that he needed to start making more if he was going to keep taking so many.
Westbrook may have temporarily extinguished that talk with a few well-timed connections, the first one coming as he ran along the sideline and banked in a desperation shot at the end of the third quarter.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 20 points.
Clippers 89 Hawks 76: In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin scored 16 points, Chris Paul had 15 points and eight assists and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks 89.
Jamal Crawford, who won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2010 while playing for Atlanta, 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 were converted into 24 Clippers points.
Nets 82 Magic 74: In Brooklyn, Brook Lopez scored 20 points, Kris Humphries added 14 points and 21 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Orlando Magic 82-74 on Sunday 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 once appeared to be another blowout turned into a close game. The Nets beat the Magic 107-68 at Orlando on Friday and jumped out to an early 20-point lead in this one.
But after losing a 22-point lead at home against Minnesota on 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.