MEMPHIS (Tennessee), Dec 22: The struggling Memphis Grizzlies clawed their way to another shock victory when they beat the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers 114-108 at the Pyramid Friday.

One night after the Grizzlies ambushed the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, playmaker Jason Williams scored 10 of his 26 points in the final four minutes to push the underdogs past the mighty Lakers.

Held to two points in the first half, Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull Memphis within 103-102, then converted a pair of free throws to put the Grizzlies ahead for good with 3:02 left.

Williams’s layup off a steal made it 106-103 before Stromile Swift made four free throws in a row to give the Grizzlies a seven-point advantage with 32 seconds remaining.

The win was only the second triumph for Memphis (7-19) over the Lakers (19-4) in 24 meetings. The Grizzlies were close to flawless in handling the ball as they committed only four turnovers — a record low for an opponent of the Lakers.

Friday’s results (home team in CAPS):

INDIANA 100 New Jersey 94

PHILADELPHIA 94 Atlanta 83

BOSTON 98 Utah 92

Cleveland 86 MIAMI 81 (OT)

Washington 93 ORLANDO 75

MEMPHIS 114 LA Lakers 108

MINNESOTA 94 Charlotte 89

SAN ANTONIO 109 Denver 74

PORTLAND 83 Detroit 81

Seattle 111 GOLDEN STATE 108 (OT)

—Reuters

Cole’s first hat trick:

RALEIGH (North Carolina): Rookie Erik Cole completed his first career hat trick 88 seconds into overtime as the Southeast Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes posted a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Thrashers Friday.

Goaltender Milan Hlincka failed to clear the puck and Cole was quick to capitalize as he snapped a backhander under the crossbar for the game-winner.

The red light did not come on but the goal was confirmed by the video replay official.

Cole, who entered the game with seven goals, nearly ended the game earlier in overtime when another backhander from the slot rebounded off the left goalpost.

The Hurricanes improved to 12-0-1 against the Thrashers who have just one win in their last 10 games (1-6-2-1).

Tom Barrasso, named to the US Olympic team Wednesday, made 19 saves for Carolina.

In New York, the NY Islanders moved into a first-place tie with the NY Rangers in the Atlantic Division with a 2-1 victory over their archrivals.

In Anaheim, California, Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 30 saves and Paul Kariya and Matt Cullen scored first-period goals as the Mighty Ducks held on for a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Friday’s results (home team in CAPS):

BUFFALO 3 Toronto 3

CAROLINA 5 Atlanta 4 (OT)

NY Islanders 2 NY RANGERS 1

DETROIT 3 San Jose 0

PITTSBURGH 4 Washington 3

TAMPA BAY 4 St Louis 3 (OT)

CHICAGO 5 Edmonton 1

COLORADO 2 Calgary 2

ANAHEIM 2 Phoenix 1

—Reuters