Green and Conley star as Grizzlies beat Blazers
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Jeff Green had 23 points and Mike Conley scored 21 with nine assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 97-86 victory over the struggling Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
Zach Randolph added 17 points for Memphis, which won their second straight. Marc Gasol had 13 points, and Tony Allen finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 27 points and seven assists.
In Houston, Eric Bledsoe had a career-high 34 points as the Phoenix Suns withstood a fourth-quarter charge by the Rockets to win 117-102.
Bledsoe scored 23 by half-time and surpassed his previous career best of 33 points, set earlier this season, on a free throw with about a minute remaining. Donatas Motiejunas had 18 points for the Rockets.
Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez had 26 points and four blocked shots to lead the Nets over the slumping Indiana Pacers 123-111.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 21 points and five rebounds off the bench, and Deron Williams scored 17 for the Nets, who have won four of five.
George Hill had 18 points and nine assists for the Pacers (30-39), who lost their fifth straight.
A win for the Pacers would have put them in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the Nets (29-39) closed the gap in a crowded race for the final play-off spot.
The Detroit Pistons came back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 107-91 after Reggie Jackson had 22 points, including 17 in the third quarter.
Stephen Curry bounced back from his worst shooting performance of the season to score 24 points, and Leandro Barbosa added a season-high 19 off the bench as the Golden State Warriors pulled away late to beat the Utah Jazz 106-91.
Meanwhile Steve Nash, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, announced his retirement on Saturday after having missed the entire season for the Los Angeles Lakers due to a nagging back injury.