For the second straight night, Rudy Gay misfired on a go-ahead attempt in the closing seconds -- and the Memphis Grizzlies crashed the offensive boards for a winning tip-in.
Tony Allen put back Gay's miss with 5.6 seconds left to give the Grizzlies their fourth straight victory, 104-103 over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
"Rudy Gay causes so much attention when he's pulling up because he's hit so many game-winners and what not," Allen said. "(The Warriors) didn't box out. They just looked up at the rim. I looked at them, and I looked at Rudy as he shot it. I just went around Dorell Wright and got the tip. That's all. Wasn't nothing special about it."
Gay's miss came from the right side of the lane, the same side of the floor where he misfired on a jumper Friday night. Dante Cunningham got to the rim to tip that one, beating the Denver Nuggets 103-102.
The Warriors had one last shot after Allen's tip-in, but David Lee was called for an offensive foul with less than a second left, sending the Warriors to their third straight loss.
"The matter is, we didn't make the play, and the Grizzlies came up with the win," Lee said.
Gay led Memphis with 19 points, and O.J. Mayo had 18. Marc Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds, Marreese Speights had 16 points, Mike Conley finished with 15 points and six assists, and Allen had 11 points.
Despite the back-to-back heroics, no one in the Grizzlies locker room said they drew up the plays to result in winning tips or Gay missing for that matter.
"Tony bailed me out today," Gay said. "(Friday) it was Dante. I think next time, I have to make the shot."
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 36 points, matching his season high, as he connected on 13 of 21 shots in the game, including 6 of 9 outside the arc. Monta Ellis finished with 33 points, and Lee had 14 points and nine rebounds. Curry and Ellis each had six assists.
The game was close throughout the fourth quarter. Memphis had a five-point lead, but that was the biggest advantage either team had in the final period.
Part of that came from Memphis missing four straight free throws while trailing or tied.
There were eight ties and nine lead changes in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors took a 103-102 lead on Ekpe Udoh's two free throws with 28.1 seconds left, setting the stage for Allen's winner.
"Once again, we were in a position to win the ballgame, and we didn't because of a defensive rebound," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "That's the disappointing part of it."
Memphis connected on its first six shots, building an 18-point lead, en route to hitting 14 of its 20 shots in the first quarter.
Curry kept the Warriors close. He connected on five of his first six shots in the second quarter, including four from long range, and, with the help of Ellis, put pressure on Memphis by opening the period with a 24-8 run to erase the Grizzlies' advantage.
Golden State eventually would outscore Memphis 37-20 in the second period, helping the Warriors carry a 56-54 advantage into the halftime break.
The Warriors starting backcourt was a combined 15 of 26 in the half. Curry had 23 points at intermission, and Ellis added 17.
Memphis shot well at 59 percent, but the Grizzlies were hampered by 10 turnovers. Gasol and Speights had 11 points each for Memphis, and Gay scored 10 before the break.
The Grizzlies missed 10 of their first 13 shots in the third.
Memphis was able to whittle the advantage in the latter stages of the quarter, leaving the Warriors up 78-76 entering the fourth.
"It's just a game. It's fun to be out there and competing," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "It doesn't have to be pretty. It's just competition. You go out and grit it out and play together."
NOTES: Memphis wore its throwback Memphis Tams uniforms from the ABA days. Memphis is 2-2 in the jerseys... The game was the nightcap of a college-NBA doubleheader at the FedExForum. Earlier, UTEP beat Memphis 60-58. ... Curry had been held under 15 points in each of the previous four games. ... Memphis has won four straight in the series. ... Ellis had his most points since setting a career high with 48 on Feb. 7 against Oklahoma City.
