NBA: East-leading Hawks down Grizzlies with late surge

Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) battles Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, front left, for the ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, in Atlanta. Atlanta won 96-86. AP

ATLANTA, United States – Atlanta’s Jeff Teague scored 25 points, including a key 3-pointer in a pivotal late run, and the Hawks beat Memphis 96-86 Wednesday in a showdown of NBA contenders.

The Hawks own the best record in the Eastern Conference at 27-8 after their sixth victory in a row while the Grizzlies fell to 25-10, third in the Western Conference, and 4-5 since hefty front-liner Zach Randolph was sidelined by a sore knee.

Teague had five points in a 12-2 burst over the final three minutes of the game. Atlanta scored 10 points in a row and the only basket for Memphis in the last three minutes was a dunk by Spaniard Marc Gasol with 13 seconds to play.

Kyle Korver added 14 points while Paul Millsap contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, Al Horford netted 12 points and Pero Antic came off the bench to score 13.

Mike Conley had 17 points and Gasol scored 16 to lead the Grizzlies, whose 21 turnovers set up 19 Atlanta points.

“It was a little sloppy with 39 turnovers between the teams,” Grizzlies coach David Joerger said. “Our inability to play offense put us on the run for most of the game. But hats off to them. They’re really good.”

The Hawks took the lead for good on Horford’s jumper with 2 1/2 minutes left. Teague and Korver followed with 3-pointers from the left side and Teague added a layup to cap the run.