PHOENIX (AP) - Jason Richardson scored five of his 38 points in an amazing final 1.1 seconds of regulation and, thanks to a made free throw that Rudy Gay intended to miss, the Phoenix Suns went on to a head-shaking 123-118 double-overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
Steve Nash scored 13 of his 25 points in the overtimes to send Memphis to its third loss in a row but the second-best free throw shooter in NBA history missed one of two to give.
Memphis seemed safely ahead when O.J. Mayo’s two free throws made it 98-94 with 3.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
But Richardson banked in a 3-pointer to make it 98-97 with 1.1 to go, then Steve Nash fouled Gay on an inbounds pass. The referees put 0.4 seconds on the clock.
Gay missed the first free throw and clearly intended to miss the other so time would run out. But it went in and, after a timeout, the ball moved to Phoenix’s frontcourt and Grant Hill lofted a perfect lob to Richardson at the rim. The shot went in to tie it at 99.
Memphis was without head coach Lionel Hollins and assistant Johnny Davis, who were attended the memorial service for former teammate Maurice Lucas.
Richardson’s sixth 3-pointer in 7 attempts put Phoenix ahead for good in the second overtime. Nash followed with a pair of short bank shots and the Suns led 116-110. A rare missed free throw by Nash gave Memphis a shot at tying the game but Gay misfired on a 3-pointer with seven seconds left and Phoenix put it away with free throws.
Marc Gasol scored 26 points on 12 of 13 shooting for Memphis before fouling out with 2 1/2 minutes left in the second overtime. Zach Randolph, back after missing three games with a bruised tailbone, scored 12 on 3 of 11 shooting but grabbed 14 rebounds.
Gay added 26 to set a franchise record of six straight 20-point games to open the season.
O.J. Mayo added 23 points and Mike Conley scored 16 but missed four of six free throws in the overtime.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 15 of his 18 in third and fourth quarters in his best game since coming to Phoenix. Hakim Warrick had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Goran Dragic added 13 as the Suns bench outscocred its Memphis courterpart 40-15.
In the first overtime, Richardson’s 18-foot jumper put Phoenix ahead 109-108 with 25 seconds to go. Conley drove toward the basket band was fouled by Steve Nash with 6.6 seconds to go. But Conley missed the first free throw, then made the second to tie it at 109-109. Nash missed a 3-pointer and the Suns had a pair of tip-in attempts but couldn’t score as the buzzer sounded.
Memphis led by 18 in the first quarter and was up by 10 at the half in a sloppy game that turned electric at the finish. There were 54 turnovers in the contest, 28 by Phoenix and 26 by Memphis.
Notes: Hollins and Davis were teammates with Lucas on Portland’s 1977 NBA championship team. … Memphis has one more stop on a four-game trip, Saturday night in Sacramento. … Richardson scored 15 of his team’s 20 points in the first quarter. … Phoenix avoided its first three-game home losing streak since Jan. 16-31, 2009.
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