The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Phoenix Suns 122-114 at home at the FedExForum on Friday, ending the opponents' nine-game winning streak.

The Grizzlies sidelined four of their starters, Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. Steven Adams and Desmond Bane, but they still stunned the league leader. They had seven players reach double-digit points, led by Dillon Brooks' 30, and six players deliver at least three assists. Though the Grizzlies shot only 7 for 24 from downtown, they scored as many as 68 points in the paint.

The great offensive performance above came from the team's remarkable energy and aggressiveness. The Grizzlies led in offensive rebounds 16-2 and free throw attempts 28-17. They forced 17 turnovers by the Suns and turned them into 24 points. By contrast, the Suns only had seven points via the 11 turnovers committed by the Grizzlies.

"These are definitely culture wins because you're going up against the best team in the league," Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said.

"This team is very, very deep, so we've got to keep going and keep doing this," Grizzlies rookie Santi Aldama said after getting 12 points in Friday's game.

The Suns had themselves to blame for the missed 17 triples (out of 27 attempts) because the Grizzlies were only average in containing their opponents behind the arc (35 percent, 15th in 30 teams). Neither was there any one trying to deflect the Suns' free throws but their players still missed seven of them.

However, when you had to invest a lot of your strength in physical contact on both offense and defense and tussle for every rebound, your touch will understandably be affected. Chris Paul and Devin Booker, whose major game was built on jump shooting, are more vulnerable to this.

"They outplayed us," Suns head coach Monty Williams said. "That was the key to the game. Their approach and our approach were two totally different ZIP codes."

"I don't care who's out there playing, they've got an NBA jersey on," Paul said of the Grizzlies playing without four starters. "I learned in this league a long time ago, respect whoever it is."

Lakers on the edge of missing play-in tournament

In another game on Friday, visiting team New Orleans Pelicans defeated Los Angeles Lakers 114-111 at Crypto.com Arena, staying in an advantageous position to compete for attendance in the play-in tournament.

C.J. McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas combined 78 points, 27 rebounds and 17 assists for the Pelicans. Each had a dominant quarter, especially Ingram, who exploded in the second half with 23 points and seven rebounds.

"We had some poise late in that game," Ingram said. "Down the stretch, we had some good execution. Everybody was locked in on the defensive end, and we seemed confident."

The Pelicans are 34-43, ninth in the Western Conference and three games above the Lakers after Friday's win. Considering that both have five games to go, the chance of the purple and gold catching up with the Pelicans can't be more distant.

You could tell how desperate the Lakers wanted this win by having both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom have been dealing with injuries, back on Friday night. James scored 38 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He got 21 in the third quarter, putting his team on a 1-point lead, but the 37-year-old was too tired to carry on when he returned in the last quarter, during which he shot 1 for 4 in field goals (FGs).

Davis got a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds plus six assists after playing over 36 minutes on the floor, which was dangerously long for someone who hadn't played at all since February 16.

Unfortunately, the remarkable performance of the star duo couldn't save the Lakers from suffering their 15th loss since the All-Star break. The teams was almost defenseless in the paint, where they allowed the Pelicans to shoot 22 for 29 from the floor. As a whole, the Pelicans shot 41 for 79 in FGs, which was ridiculously good for a franchise that is among bottom 10 offensively in the league.

"The big picture is that it was pretty much a must-win for us, and we didn't get the job done," James said.

The Lakers are currently 11th in the West and one game after the San Antonio Spurs, which also holds the tiebreaker. Both have five more games to play. The Lakers are meeting the Denver Nuggets (home), Phoenix Suns (away), Golden State Warriors (away), Oklahoma City Thunder (home) and Denver Nuggets (home).

The Spurs are playing against the Portland Trail Blazers (home), Denver Nuggets (away), Minnesota Timberwolves (away), Golden State Warriors (home) and Dallas Mavericks (away).

The Lakers must have two more wins than the Spurs in the following games to be able to compete in the play-in tournament. The good news for the purple and gold is that they won't meet Stephen Curry who will spend the rest of the regular season recovering from a sprained ligament in his left foot. The bad news is that they will have to deal with the Nuggets earlier and one more time than the Spurs. The Nuggets are trying not to drop in seventh and Nikola Jokic is in a close race for the NBA MVP.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Toronto Raptors 102-89 Orlando Magic

Dallas Mavericks 103-135 Washington Wizards

Indiana Pacers 123-128 Boston Celtics

Sacramento Kings 122-117 Houston Rockets

Los Angeles Clippers 153-119 Milwaukee Bucks

Detroit Pistons 110-101 Oklahoma City Thunder

Portland Trail Blazers 111-130 San Antonio Spurs

Minnesota Timberwolves 136-130 Denver Nuggets