I realize that the NBA season is not even ten games old, yet the Memphis Grizzlies are night-and-day different as opposed to last season; in Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, rookie guard O.J. Mayo pressed his case as being the real deal when he scored 19 of his 33 points in the final period.  More often than not, that’s usually enough to get the win for your team, but the Suns’ Leandro Barbosa had something to say about that as he scored 16 points of his own in the final period.  The offensive outburst by Barbosa was enough to help Phoenix get past Memphis 107-102 at US Airways Center.

Neither team shot well at all in the first half as both teams went into their respective locker rooms tied at 44; Mayo gave the Grizzlies a 51-50 lead on a 3-pointer with 9:34 to go in the third period, but Suns forward Matt Barnes‘ trey started an 18-4 run over the next 5 minutes as Phoenix built a 68-55 lead with 4:34 left in the quarter.  Barbosa would make a layup with 54.5 seconds left in the third to give the Suns a 82-65 lead.

The Suns had an 82-70 cushion going into the fourth quarter before Mayo took over for the Grizzlies and brought them to within a basket; he would score 11 consecutive points to pull Memphis to within 87-85.  Phoenix would regain the lead 100-98 on a trey by Barbosa; the Grizzlies’ Darko Milicic made a layup with 2:12 left in the game before Rudy Gay gave the Grizzlies their final lead of the game, 102-100 with 1:30 remaining.  Barbosa sank another three-pointer to give Phoenix a 103-102 lead; Steve Nash would sink a pair of free throws then Mayo would attempt and miss a trey with 6.9 seconds left, giving the Suns the win.

Barbosa led all Suns scorers with 27 points, 3 rebounds and a steal while Amare Stoudemire added 18 with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots.  Memphis was led by Mayo with a game-high 33 points (including 3 treys), 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while Gay added 20 with 7 rebounds and a blocked shot; Marc Gasol pitched in, scoring 15 with 5 rebounds and a steal.  Phoenix (6-2) plays again on Wednesday when they host the Houston Rockets while Memphis (3-5) returns home to host the New York Knicks – also on Wednesday.