Tyreke Evans is playing hurt, but he made the improbable plays of the game Wednesday to end a long losing streak for the Sacramento Kings.
Evans scored five points in the final 16 seconds - including a 60-footer at the buzzer - as the Kings snapped an eight-game slide with a wild 100-98 home victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Playing with a foot problem that might need season-ending surgery, Evans stole the ball from O.J. Mayo and raced the length of the court for a dunk with 16.4 seconds left to give Sacramento a 97-96 lead.
After Mayo knocked down an off-balance jumper with under two seconds left, Evans took the inbounds pass, dribbled once and splashed in a running heave at the buzzer.
Evans scored 21 points and got help from rookie DeMarcus Cousins, who had 21 points and 16 rebounds off the bench. Sacramento is 3-22 after a 3-1 start.
Zach Randolph was a one-man wrecking crew for Memphis (14-18), which gave away what would have been a seventh win in 10 games. The burly 6-9 southpaw scored 35 points on 15-of-27 shooting and added 17 rebounds, nine on the offensive end.
The Grizzlies led just about the whole way and had a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. They continue their three-game road trip at Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Memphis | Sacramento | |
Zach Randolph 35 | Scoring | Beno Udrih 24 |
Mike Conley 7 | Assists | Beno Udrih 6 |
Zach Randolph 17 | Rebounds | DeMarcus Cousins 16 |
Zach Randolph 5 | Free Throws Made | Beno Udrih 8 |
Tony Allen 3 | Steals | Omri Casspi 2 |
Marc Gasol 1 | Blocks | Samuel Dalembert 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Memphis | 98 | 43.7 | 1-3 | 21-28 | 18 | 40 | 1 | 9 | 15 |
Sacramento | 100 | 46.1 | 8-17 | 22-28 | 20 | 41 | 4 | 10 | 21 |