Bobby Jackson tallied 19 points and Hedo Turkoglu 16 for the Kings, who shot 51 percent (47-of-93) and had six players reach double figures en route to their fifth straight victory overall.
Sacramento, which played its seventh consecutive game without All-Star forward Peja Stojakovic (strained right hamstring), led by just 39-33 midway through the second quarter before Jackson hit a jump shot to commence a 20-4 burst into halftime.
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Kings-Grizzlies: 56k | 300k Jason Williams and Chris Webber, teammates for three years in Sacramento, catch up after the game. Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images |
The Grizzlies, who shot 38 percent (32-of-84), never got closer than 19 points in the final 24 minutes.
"We got the lead in the first quarter and we opened it up in the second quarter, and that's what we tried to do," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We also wanted to come out and control the third quarter.
"We didn't want to see them come back," Adelman added. "We talked about how they came back in Portland (in which Memphis rallied from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit last Monday) and won and we wanted to be sure our guys understood that we had to win that third quarter."
Stromile Swift had 20 points and nine rebounds and Pau Gasol 15 and 14 for the Grizzlies, who lost to the Kings for the 14th time in 16 meetings.
"We are still trying to stay consistent and play hard," Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe said. "We are still trying to play the right way for 48 minutes. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. That's the inconsistency of a young team."
"It was a tough loss because we lost by so many points," Gasol added. "I missed a lot of easy shots at the basket. They just didn't want to fall in. I started feeling fatigued. We are going to have to make a better effort the rest of the year."
Sacramento (54-19) won for the eighth time in its last nine road games to improve to 21-15 away from Arco Arena. The Kings have the league's best home record at 33-4.
The Kings tied a franchise record by winning their fifth consecutive road game.
"You know, it's funny," Webber said. "We've gone from being the worst road team to having, like, the fourth-best road record. I would say it's just a testament to us paying attention. We were winning so much anyway, but we weren't winning on the road, and I think that became a focal point."
The Kings remain 1 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the top playoff spot in the Western Conference after their Pacific Division rivals won at Washington on Tuesday, 113-93.
"Our goal is we're ahead, so we've just got to keep winning and obviously the Lakers aren't going anywhere," Adelman said. "I don't think Dallas is going anywhere. The only thing it looks like for sure is we can't be any worse than third. Let's seize this opportunity. You put yourself in position here with nine games to go, let's see how we can finish it."
Former King Jason Williams shot just 1-for-8 from the field, and finished just just two points.
"That was a good ballclub, a very good team," Lowe said. "They are certainly trying to make a statement and get the home-court advantage in the playoffs. They played well. We did not particularly play well."







