Grizzlies 92, Wizards 89

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For six and a half minutes in the fourth quarter, the Memphis Grizzlies failed to make a shot from the field. A 16-point third-quarter lead went away and the Washington Wizards took a two-point lead and the Grizzlies could not stop guard Bradley Beal, who finished with a career-high 37 points.

But beginning with a floater from rookie point guard Nick Calathes that pulled Memphis back into a tie with 5:30 to play, the Grizzlies outscored Washington 12-7 and hung on for a 92-89 victory as a 3-point attempt by guard John Wall rimmed out just before the buzzer Tuesday night at FedExForum.

Calathes and center Marc Gasol each scored 18 points for Memphis (28-23). Power forward Zach Randolph finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Shooting guard Courtney Lee and forward James Johnson also had 13 points apiece.

Washington (25-26) got 17 points from forward Nene and forward Trevor Ariza and center Marcin Gortat each scored 10 points.

The Grizzlies’ largest lead — 64-48 — came at the 8:28 mark in the third quarter after a running bank shot by Calathes. The Wizards trailed by nine at the start of the fourth quarter but opened the final frame on a 12-1 run to take an 82-80 with 5:46 to play; Beal scored eight of the 12 points.

The Wizards shot 47.1 percent from the floor (33-for-70) and the Grizzlies 45.9 percent (37-for-74). Memphis overcame 19 turnovers.

Ahead 24-23 at the end of the first quarter, Memphis stretched the lead to 52-39 at halftime. The Wizards got 19 first-half points from Beal on 8-for-10 shooting and he went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

But Memphis dominated inside through the first two quarters, outscoring Washington 28-10 in the paint and out-rebounding the Wizards 22-13.

The Grizzlies also got to the free-throw line more and made 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) while the Wizards went 3-for-6 (50 percent).

Memphis shot 52.6 percent for the half and Gasol, Randolph and Johnson had 10 points each at the break.

NOTES: The Grizzlies are 2-4 over the last five games without starting PG Mike Conley (right ankle sprain). For the season, they are 2-6 without Conley. “Take away a guy like Conley, it affects anybody,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “(Nick) Calathes has done a good job, but Conley’s a different player.” … Washington won 10 of its last 16 games and with a victory move over .500 for the second time this season. … Wizards G John Wall scored a career-high 47 points in his last game against Memphis on March 25, 2013, in Washington. … Grizzlies SG Courtney Lee is one of two players in the 50-40-80 club this season, shooting 50-plus percent from the field, 40-plus percent from 3-point range and 80-plus percent from the free-throw line. The other player is Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant.