In the end, the Washington Wizards did just enough to win. In a sloppy game, the Wizards came on top of the Memphis Grizzlies, defeating them [score] at the Verizon Center.
Washington had a three-point lead with 10 seconds left, and Memphis had a chance to tie. But O.J. Mayo missed a three-pointer, and Mike Conley followed with a desperation miss at the buzzer.
The game was close throughout the second half, with neither team pulling away from the other. However, the Wizards eventually opened up a six-point lead with three minutes to go. Gilbert Arenas hit two three-pointers, and Andray Blatche made two big plays, drawing a charge on Rudy Gay, then hitting a layup and drawing the foul. JaVale McGee also made a big play when he chased down Mike Conley for a blocked shot, preventing a fast-break layup caused by his own turnover.
Memphis cut it back down to four, but Kirk Hinrich hit a big shot to put Washington up six with 1:32 left. However, the Grizzlies scored to cut it to four, and an Andray Blatche turnover led to a Mike Conley layup to cut the lead to 87-85 with 1:06 remaining. But on the ensuing possession, Gilbert Arenas got to the rim, and when he missed the layup, McGee skied for the putback slam to put Washington back up four. Marc Gasol hit one of two free-throws, and Al Thornton missed a jump shot, setting up Memphis' last possession.
Arenas led the Wizards with 24 points, while Kirk Hinrich added 22. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 19 points and 12 rebounds.