DENVER — Center Marc Gasol had a go-ahead three-point play with 12.2 seconds left, and the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Denver Nuggets 102-101 on Thursday night.
Gasol finished with 27 points and guard Mike Conley scored 20 for Memphis, which won its fourth straight with NBA commissioner Adam Silver in attendance.
Gasol had 18 in the second half, three of them that gave Memphis the win.
With the Grizzlies down one he rolled to the basket and put in a layup as he was fouled by Denver center Joffrey Lauvergne. He hit the free throw to give Memphis a 100-98 lead.
Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari missed a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left and Conley sank two free throws. Denver guard Emmanuel Mudiay hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried had 17 points and 12 rebounds but didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Gallinari also scored 17 and Mudiay had 14 points and eight assists.
The Nuggets trailed by as many as 18 in the second quarter but rallied to cut it to 55-48 at the half. They took their first lead when Faried’s layup early in the third made it 59-58.
Denver went up 69-66 after guard Gary Harris’ 3-pointer completed a four-point trip, but Gasol scored 10 of the Grizzlies’ next 13 points to put them ahead 79-77 after three quarters.
The Memphis bench extended the lead to seven early in the fourth but Denver hung around. Mudiay, who scored all of his points in the second half, hit a 3-pointer and Lauvergne a layup to tie it at 91 with?4:48?left.
A goaltending call on Conley’s layup put Memphis back in front, but guard Will Barton hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 94 with 2:27 left.
Gasol went 1-for-2 from the line with 53 seconds left to give the Grizzlies a 97-96 lead, but Barton’s layup gave Denver the lead with 41.2 seconds remaining.
The Grizzlies missed a shot but got the rebound and called a timeout to set up the last play.
NOTES: Memphis signed C Ryan Hollins to a 10-day contract on Thursday. Hollins is in his third stint with Memphis this season. He was in training camp but was waived before the start of the season. He was re-signed Dec. 29 and played in four games before being waived again Jan. 7. … Nuggets G Jameer Nelson missed his third straight game with a sprained left wrist. … Grizzlies G Mike Conley played in his second straight game after missing six with a sore left Achilles tendon. … Denver coach Michael Malone said he didn’t play C Jusuf Nurkic on Tuesday because he “hadn’t done anything in six days.” Nurkic was active against Oklahoma City after missing two games with a left knee injury. … Memphis G Tony Allen (knee/hamstring) was a late scratch and the Grizzlies had 10 available players.