Williams’ 25 lifts Cavs past Grizzlies

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Mo Williams scored 25 points, J.J. Hickson added 16, and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped out of a fourth-quarter offensive funk just in time to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 92-86 on Saturday night.

Williams hit a clutch 10-foot floater with 6.5 seconds left, added a season-high 12 assists and made four 3-pointers for the Cavaliers, who missed their first 13 shots in the fourth, but regrouped and won their seventh straight at home over Memphis.

It was the second straight strong performance at home for Williams, who beat Milwaukee with a game-winning shot at the horn on Wednesday.

Rudy Gay scored 17 points for the Grizzlies, who had their winning streak stopped at three.

Joey Graham added 12 points and Anderson Varejao 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who improved to 7-9 in their first season without LeBron James. The two-time league MVP used to do it all for Cleveland, and the team sorely needs someone to step up and take over as their go-to guy.

Williams appears ready to try.

With the score tied 84, he drained a 3 from the top of the key, and after a Memphis miss, Williams drove through traffic in the lane and fed Hickson for a layup to make it 89-84 with 29 seconds left. Mike Conley’s two free throws pulled the Grizzlies within three, but Williams ran down the clock before driving just inside the foul lane and sinking a soft, arching shot to put Memphis away.

Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo each scored 13 for the Grizzlies.

The Cavaliers picked the worst possible time for their offense to go into hiding. They missed their first 13 shots of the fourth before Hickson’s layup put Cleveland ahead 82-80 with 3:04 remaining. Before Hickson’s bucket, the Cavs scored just five points in the period — all free throws.

With Cleveland trailing 60-56 in the third, Williams went to work during a 16-0 run.

He set up Joey Graham’s 3-pointer and then knocked down a jumper to put the Cavs ahead for the first time since the first quarter.