CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Kemba Walker scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and the Charlotte Hornets held off the Memphis Grizzlies 98-92 on Saturday night.
Nicholas Batum had 20 points and 11 rebounds, P.J. Hairston added 14 points, Jeremy Lin 13 and Frank Kaminsky 10 for the Hornets, who rallied from a five-point deficit in the final period.
Mike Conley scored 19 points, Marc Gasol had 18 and Zach Randolph added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who led 83-78 with 7:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But Charlotte fought back to take the lead for good at 89-88 on a layup by Walker with 1:55 left. He followed that up with a 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining to put the Hornets up 92-88.
Charlotte closed out the game by going 6 of 6 on free throws over the final 23 seconds to snap the Grizzlies' three-game winning streak.
Neither team could decisively take command over the first three quarters, with five lead changes and five ties in the first half - the last at 53 at the break - and five more lead changes and two ties in the third quarter. The teams were even at 74 entering the fourth quarter.
Batum had 12 points and six assists, and Hairston added 11 points as the Hornets would pull ahead by as many as 10 points in the half. But the Grizzlies fought back each time.
Charlotte took its biggest lead of the first half at 40-30 on Batum's 3-pointer with 9:26 remaining in the second quarter. But Gasol scored 14 points during a 23-13 run to close out the quarter, with Randolph's free throw with 24.5 seconds left tying the score at 53.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Made just 11 of 21 free throws (52.4 percent). . Memphis committed 14 turnovers, leading to 23 Charlotte points.
Hornets: Tied their season high with 20 turnovers, leading to 24 Memphis points. ... Also had a season-high 30 fast-break points.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Hornets: host the Lakers on Monday night.
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