"He did it again.

The shot Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay made Monday night with hardly any time left in a victory over the Toronto Raptors increased his career total of game-winners to six, including two this season.

And while Gay needs more than five NBA seasons to establish himself as another "Mr. Clutch," he's taking long strides toward grabbing that distinction for the Grizzlies.

The Griz hope tonight's game against the New Jersey Nets doesn't come down to Gay's last-second heroics, but this much is clear: There is no one coach Lionel Hollins would rather go to with three seconds or less and the game on the line.

"Rudy has the ability to get a shot and get a good shot," Hollins said. "By putting him in isolation like that, you don't worry about a (defensive) guy helping. It's just Rudy and the defender. And the defender has to stop him. It's a good sign for a young player to have that knack. It's a knack for rising in that special moment. Everybody doesn't have that will. Everybody doesn't have that skill level."

Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers legend and former Griz president, couldn't agree more. West was responsible for trading the franchise's most popular player (Shane Battier) to Houston during the 2006 draft for the right toGay with the eighth overall pick.

"I love watching the confidence. It's nice to see him come into his own," West said. "Some players you couldn't get to shoot the last shot. But when he goes right, there isn't a player in the league that can bother him. That kid (Raptors forward Julian Wright) was right on Rudy, but yet he wasn't close to him."

Gay received the ball, and his teammates cleared out. He dribbled by Wright toward the baseline, elevated and buried a 14-foot shot with 0.8 seconds left. It's the same spot on the floor that Miami's LeBron James was in defensively Nov. 20 when Gay connected on a shot at the buzzer for a 97-95 win in FedExForum."