National Basketball Association
Memphis 107, Sacramento 91
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, January 20, 2017
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials:
#11 Derrick Collins, #30 John Goble, #77 Karl Lane
Attendance:
16991
By The Sports Xchange
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies continued their seven-year dominance of the Sacramento Kings in games played at FedExForum on Friday night, relying on an efficient final 17 minutes and a flurry of 3-pointers.
Center Marc Gasol scored 28 points and power forward Zach Randolph added 20 to lead the Grizzlies to a 107-91 victory, but the two big men didn't do all their damage in the paint.
Gasol was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and Randolph was 2 of 3, including a 35-footer at the third-quarter buzzer.
In the final 17 minutes, the Grizzlies outscored the Kings 43-33 and made seven of their 11 3-pointers. Gasol and Randolph had four of their five 3-pointers during the stretch.
"When they're making (3-pointers), it makes us really hard to guard," Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said. "It opens up the paint for everybody, so to speak. They are both capable of going off and making five or six 3s a night."
Gasol, a candidate to make the NBA All-Star team as a reserve, and Randolph, a sixth man of the year candidate, helped the Grizzlies to a lopsided edge on the boards (58-35), too. Randolph had 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double and Gasol had nine.
Tony Allen also chipped in with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) for the Grizzlies.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings, playing their first game without injured Rudy Gay, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Gay is out for the year after tearing his left Achilles in Wednesday's loss to Indiana.
The Kings dropped their fourth straight and seventh in their last eight.
Memphis (26-19) improved to 13-1 against Sacramento at FedExForum since the 2009-10 season.
The Grizzlies led by only six with 2:51 to go in the third quarter before going on a 19-6 run to close the quarter, capped by a 35-foot 3-pointer by Randolph at the buzzer for an 83-64 lead. Randolph effortlessly swished the shot from the right wing as time expired.
"It was a good shot," Randolph said. "Vince (Carter) made a good pass. I'd been worried. I haven't hit a (deep 3) in a long time, so it was long overdue."
During the run, Gasol had back-to-back 3-pointers and Conley, who finished with 16 points and eight assists, dropped in consecutive layups.
"That shot kind of got us all excited," Conley said. "Seeing him, of all people, make (a 35-footer). It was a phenomenal shot because it was a great possession for us defensively and we took that momentum into the fourth quarter.
"Then it became really easy for me. I didn't have to work nearly as hard as I normally do to get into the paint and make something happen. I literally just walked to the rim a few times. That's a byproduct of our big guys being able to space the court with their 3-point shooting."
Memphis put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter as Randolph scored the first six points of the quarter and Conley, Randolph, James Ennis and Andrew Harrison sank 3-pointers.
The Grizzlies finished with 10 or more 3-pointers for the 21st time this season. Entering 2016-17, the Grizzlies had made 10 or more in a game only 18 times during the past six seasons.
As encouraged as Grizzlies coach David Fizdale was with his team's success from beyond the arc, he was more impressed by the huge rebounding margin.
"That's a tell-tale sign of if your team is really engaged and locked in to the game," Fizdale said. "That's something that I've really been stressing to these guys. If the ball is in the air or if the ball is on the floor, we've got to be the fastest (to it)."
Despite falling behind 9-0 to start the game, the Grizzlies recovered quickly and eventually built a nine-point lead shortly before the half.
Memphis led 49-40 after Conley sank a technical free throw and Gasol added two additional free throws with 2.7 seconds to go in the first half. Memphis was up 49-42 at the break.
The Grizzlies overcame a poor-shooting first quarter (7 of 23, 30.4 percent) that resulted in only 15 points. The Kings led 23-15 after the first quarter.
But the Grizzlies recovered behind Carter, who had 11 points and connected on two 3-pointers in the second quarter. Carter's three-point play early in the quarter gave Memphis a 27-26 lead. A late 14-4 run capped by a Gasol three-point play gave the Grizzlies a 44-36 advantage with about two minutes left.
"We had a good opportunity in the first half and didn't capitalize on it," Kings coach Dave Joerger said.
The Grizzlies shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second quarter to create their halftime cushion and outrebounded the Kings 29-18.
"They were just getting easy shots (in the second quarter)," Kings guard Ty Lawson said. "We started the game off good, but then after that they were knocking down shots and getting into the paint, just doing what they wanted."
For the Grizzlies, forward Chandler Parsons sat out to rest, but he is expected to play Saturday night against the Houston Rockets.
Also, the Grizzlies lost guard Troy Daniels in the second quarter to a right knee injury. He left with 8:46 to go and did not return. Daniels did not score in eight minutes.
NOTES: The Grizzlies were allowing a league-low average of 37.4 points in the paint. Memphis led the NBA last season allowing only 38.7 paint points per game. ... The Kings played the first of an eight-game road swing. It is the franchise's second time in three years to have an eight-game road trip, both caused by a game cancellation. Part of the road trip is a Jan. 30 game at the Philadelphia 76ers, postponed from Nov. 30 because of unsafe playing conditions. ... Grizzlies G Vince Carter had his 27th game this season with 10 or more points. He has accomplished the feat playing as a reserve after his 39th birthday. He broke the record of 26 games set by Kevin Willis. ... Sacramento was playing its first game without second-leading scorer Rudy Gay (18.7 points) because of a torn left Achilles tendon suffered in Wednesday's game vs. Indiana. Gay will miss the rest of the season.
Top Game Performances
Sacramento |
|
Memphis |
DeMarcus Cousins 19 |
Scoring |
Marc Gasol 28 |
Ty Lawson 5 |
Assists |
Mike Conley 8 |
DeMarcus Cousins 10 |
Rebounds |
Tony Allen 10 |
DeMarcus Cousins 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Marc Gasol 7 |
Arron Afflalo 2 |
Steals |
Vince Carter 2 |
Kosta Koufos 2 |
Blocks |
James Ennis III 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Sacramento
|
91 |
40.8 |
6-29 |
23-32 |
18 |
35 |
6 |
9 |
10 |
Memphis
|
107 |
45.8 |
11-28 |
20-25 |
21 |
58 |
4 |
6 |
15 |
Upcoming Games
-
Memphis will play their next game at home against Houston. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .520 after a win and .650 after a loss.
-
Sacramento will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Kings have a W/L % of .312 after a win and .423 after a loss.