MEMPHIS, Tenn. _ The Bulls are right where they want to be.
OK, so that's a facetious manner of addressing what their 111-110 victory over the Grizzlies and the Knicks' loss to the 76ers meant Thursday night.
After all, the Grizzlies' 19th straight defeat meant the Bulls dropped below the Knicks and into ninth in the draft lottery standings in a season in which management eyed a top-three pick.
But ninth is from where the Bulls vaulted to the No. 1 overall pick exactly 10 years ago, cashing in a 1.7 percent chance to win the draft lottery and eventually select Derrick Rose.
But that's a scenario for another night as far as the Bulls' bench is concerned, which outscored the Grizzlies' reserves 63-18 led by big nights from Antonio Blakeney, Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine. Portis sank three 3-pointers en route to his 17 points, while Valentine tied his career-high with five 3-pointers and scored 15 points.
And Blakeney sank the winning free throws with 1.8 seconds left, making two of three after drawing a foul on Tyreke Evans while shooting a 3-pointer off an isolation.
The Bulls closed with a lineup of Blakeney, Cameron Payne, Paul Zipser, Noah Vonleh and Cristiano Felicio. And they weren't even in Hoffman Estates, Ill., where their G League affiliate plays.
The Bulls nudged ahead 107-106 with 1 minute, 13 seconds left when Payne scored a layup in transition off a steal. But JaMychael Green dunked with 46.9 seconds left off a nifty pass from Marc Gasol, who had rebounded Evans' missed 3-pointer off a long carom beyond the 3-point line.
Following a timeout, Blakeney executed a nice play to feed Felicio, who was fouled and sank both free throws with 40.5 seconds left. But Jarell Martin scored on a power move inside.
That's when Blakeney put his stamp on closing time. Hoiberg had said pregame he wanted to see Payne and Blakeney in such a role. Zach LaVine, who led the Bulls with 20 points on 10-for-10 free-throw shooting, didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Gasol missed a wild shot at the buzzer that Green dunked just after the final buzzer, a call that stood up after official review.
