Williams went 16-of-28 from the field and made six 3-pointers, including four in the third quarter, which started with the teams tied at 41-41.
 Jason Williams certainly made his point against a depleted Rockets backcourt. Joe Murphy NBAE/Getty Images |
The flashy point guard, who finished with 11 assists and four steals, outscored the entire Houston team in the third, 18-17. Memphis led by 17 entering the fourth.
"We didn't expect him to score 38, but we'll take it," Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said. "We'll take it every night. I told him his role has to change here from what it was in Sacramento. I told him in the locker room that I wanted him to get 40, but I took him out because I didn't want some freak injury to happen."
Rookies Shane Battier and Pau Gasol added 18 and 17 points, respectively, for the Grizzlies, who won for the second time in three games and improved the Western Conference's worst record to 3-12.
"It's great to get a win, especially at home the way we've been stuggling," Williams said. "The crowd wanted a win and we gave it to them. The fourth quarter is the key."
Memphis won despite attempting a franchise-low four free throws (3-of-4). Their previous low was five, against Charlotte on December 9, 1996.
Houston played for the second consecutive game without its starting backcourt of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, who are out with heel and ankle injuries, respectively.
The Rockets were paced by Walt Williams' 15 points. Kenny Thomas and Kevin Willis had 14 apiece for Houston, which suffered its fourth straight loss and eighth in 10 games.
"I don't like Jason Williams," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I hated him. I hated Battier. I hated ... who else? Where's the stat sheet? I hated Gasol. I hated him, too. We've gotta be more efficient. We've just gotta play better."
Jason Williams ended an evenly played first half with a steal and layup just before the buzzer. The bucket tied the game and gave Williams a game-high 13 points at the break.
"In the first half, I was coming down and stoppin' and poppin' at the top of the key and from the free-throw line in," Williams said.
"He was awesome," Battier said. "I felt like he was a pitcher throwing a no-hitter. I didn't want to touch him or anything. I didn't want to look at him, I didn't want to jinx him. He had it going."
The teams attmpted just one free throw through two quarters. Gasol had the Grizzlies' first attempt from the line with 1:31 left in the third.
Houston finished 19-of-26 from the line.