Richard Jefferson had 26 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 101-96 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
Rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute started in place of the injured Charlie Villanueva and contributed 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Bucks, who have won two straight. Ramon Sessions came off the bench to score 20 points, while Andrew Bogut had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Milwaukee dominated Memphis in the paint, out-rebounding the Grizzlies by a 62-36 margin, including a 23-8 disparity on the offensive end.
O.J. Mayo paced the Grizzlies with 25 points, while Marc Gasol contributed 18 points and seven rebounds for Memphis, which has lost four straight. Rudy Gay had 24 points -- including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime -- in defeat.
Gay's deep three-pointer with just over three minutes left in overtime gave Memphis a 92-91 edge, as both teams were sloppy early. Jefferson was fouled with 1:19 left in extra time and made both free throws to give Milwaukee the lead at 93-92.
Bogut fouled out with 57.6 seconds left as he hit Hakim Warrick's arm on a shot. Warrick gave the Grizzlies the lead back with both free throws, but Warrick's foul on the other end allowed Sessions to give the Bucks the lead back with two free throws with 42.3 ticks on the clock.
Warrick missed a shot attempt on the other end, and Luke Ridnour made two free throws to make it 97-94 with 22.7 seconds remaining. Gay followed with a drive to the basket that resulted in a foul and two free throw makes with 19.6 on the clock. Ridnour again made a couple free throws to restore the three-point lead, and Mayo's missed three-pointer allowed Milwaukee to come away with the win.
Headed into the fourth tied, Mbah a Moute scored the first four points for Milwaukee to make it 68-66 in favor of the visitors. Gay's jumper made it 72-70 with 8:41 left, but the Bucks embarked on a 7-2 surge in the next three minutes to take a 79-72 lead.
The Grizzlies came back, though, and Mayo was fouled with 1:07 left. He drained both free throws, making it 84-83 in favor of Milwaukee. Jefferson's ill-advised pass on the next offensive set gave the ball back to the Grizzlies, and Gay hit a runner in the paint to give Memphis a one-point lead with 25.8 seconds left.
Sessions gave the ball back to Memphis before getting a shot off, and Gay was fouled and made both free throws to make it 87-84 with 20.0 seconds left. But Sessions redeemed himself on the next possession, hitting a three-pointer with 9.4 seconds left to tie the game at 87.
Mayo's next shot was off the mark, and Milwaukee called timeout with 2.2 seconds left. Sessions' last-second hook shot from long distance clanked off the rim, sending the game into overtime.
Mayo and Gasol set the tone early for the Grizzlies. The duo combined for 21 points in the first quarter, and Memphis held a 25-21 advantage after the opening period.
The Grizzlies opened up the second quarter on a 14-2 spurt in the first three minutes, extending the team's lead to 16. Memphis was able to maintain the lead over the remainder of the quarter, and they led at halftime by a 49-37 margin.
The teams traded baskets early in the third, but Milwaukee finally put together a 13-3 spurt late in the quarter. Down 61-51, Sessions put together a three-point play, and Joe Alexander had a jumper and a layup to climb to within four. Jefferson had 10 total points in the quarter, and the game was locked at 64 headed into the final period.
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