Kings-Grizzlies Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Jan 17 2013 11:56AM

Given how well the Memphis Grizzlies have played this season, it's no surprise coach Lionel Hollins is baffled by their current losing streak.

Looking to avoid a season-high fourth straight defeat, the Grizzlies hope to turn things around and continue their home dominance of the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Memphis (24-13) is among the top four teams in the Western Conference because it allows 90.4 points per contest to offset its scoring average of 93.7. However, the Grizzlies have lost three straight to Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio, each by at least 21 points.

They've averaged 79.3 points and shot 36.4 percent while yielding 102.0 and 50.9 percent from the field in those games.

"I'm at a loss for words right now," Hollins told the NBA's official website. "When you shoot poorly it's a recurrent theme. When you turn the ball over it's a recurrent theme and when you don't guard it's a recurrent theme."

That was the case in Wednesday's 103-82 loss to the Spurs, as the Grizzlies went 1 for 9 from 3-point range and allowed San Antonio to shoot 57.9 percent from the field - the highest against Memphis this season. Memphis had no fast-break points and was outscored 46-26 in the paint.

"Our defense seemed to be all over the place," Hollins said. "Guys rotating when they shouldn't be rotating. We had guys out of position playing different spots."

The Grizzlies also lost a season-high three in a row Dec. 8-14, but those defeats came by a combined 17 points. Memphis last dropped four straight games Jan. 24-30.

Rudy Gay had 17 points Wednesday as each Grizzlies starter scored in double figures.

This slide follows a four-game winning streak in which Memphis averaged 100.0 points and gave up 86.8. That includes a 113-81 win at Sacramento on Jan. 7.

The Grizzlies have taken eight of 10 overall versus the Kings (15-24), and they've averaged 115.6 points and 52.7 percent shooting in winning five straight meetings at home by an average of 18.8 points.

Gay was held to eight points and 2-of-10 shooting at Sacramento, but he's scored 22.9 points a game and shot 49.2 percent in his last seven home contests against the Kings.

Though Sacramento has lost 13 of 16 at Memphis, it can match a season high with its third consecutive victory after beating two of the worst clubs in the East, Cleveland and Washington.

"We got two in a row, go to Memphis, that's a tough team," forward John Salmons said. "We've just go to stay together and play good basketball."

Salmons, DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans each had 21 points as the Kings overcame an 11-point second-half deficit for a 95-94 home win over the Wizards on Wednesday.

"Having three players have 21 points, that's sharing the ball," said Cousins, who pulled down 16 rebounds but also had six of his team's 18 turnovers. "It was a good team game for us all around."

Cousins has totaled 47 points, 30 rebounds and 11 assists in the last two games but scored 10 against the Grizzlies earlier this month.

Evans, who played collegiately at Memphis, has shot 14 of 21 while scoring 39 points in the last two contests. However, he was held to five against the Grizzlies in his first game after missing 11 with a knee injury.

Conley's 19 points lead Grizzlies past Kings 85-69

By CLAY BAILEY
Posted Jan 19 2013 12:16AM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) After a trio of blowout losses, the Memphis Grizzlies got back in rhythm for their own double-digit victory.

Mike Conley scored 19 points, Marc Gasol added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak Friday night with an 85-69 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The Grizzlies lost 103-82 San Antonio, 99-73 against the Los Angeles Clippers and 104-83 to Dallas in their last three games.

"It was a must-win game," said forward Marreese Speights, who had 10 points and nine rebounds filling in for the injured Zach Randolph. "We knew that before the game. We knew that (Thursday) when we had a team meeting. We knew we couldn't lose at home and get blown out like we did the last three games."

All five Memphis starters were in double figures as Tony Allen had 14 points and nine rebounds, plus six assists. Allen also had three blocks, while Rudy Gay scored 15 points.

The tailspin, amid trade talks involving Gay and other distractions, such as Gasol and Conley being the only players invited to a dinner with new owner Robert Pera, led to worries from fans and the team meeting Speights mentioned.

The session and Thursday's practice helped changed the mindset, several players acknowledged.

"I think we played with a sense of urgency early," Conley said. "You could see guys when bad plays were made, we were still running back on defense. If we turned it over, we'd run back on defense and not worry about it, and go on to the next play. Instead of holding our heads and feeling down about every situation we were in, we just kept playing through it."

The Kings seemed to do little to resist the Grizzlies change in attitude. Sacramento shot poorly through most of the game, finishing the night at a season-worst 34 percent and hitting only two of 10 shots from beyond the arc. That translated into a season-low in points for the Kings.

DeMarcus Cousins was the only Sacramento player in double figures with 22 points, plus 12 rebounds as the Kings saw their two-game winning streak end. Isaiah Thomas had nine points and five assists as the Kings recorded a season-low nine assists in the game.

"We couldn't find the right energy or rhythm we needed," Kings coach Keith Smart said, later adding that his team "had a lot of missed shots, easy paint shots.

"We just couldn't finish plays. We had layup opportunities, close paint shots. We just could never get ourselves into anything that was going to be easy for us to break any runs."

Memphis played the game without Randolph, who sat out with a back strain suffered in the Grizzlies' last game at San Antonio. Smart had thought that could benefit his team by concentrating on Gay, who he believed would try to pick up the offensive loss. And Cousins did play well against Speights. There was just no other help from the Kings.

"There's no difference," Cousins said of Randolph not playing. "They are still a good team, and they showed it."

Both teams started slow, but Memphis was able to build the advantage to double digits with a 10-0 burst to open the second quarter. During the span, the Kings missed their first 10 shots in the frame.

That propelled Memphis to a 42-30 lead behind nine points from Allen and eight from Gasol, who shot only 2 of 7 from the field. He was 4 of 7 in the second half.

No Kings players were in double figures in the first half, either, with Cousins leading the way with seven points. But Cousins was 3 of 9 from the field, part of the Kings shooting 29 percent from the field, including 6 of 25 in the second quarter.

"We weren't making shots in the game, and it kind of lingered throughout," said forward John Salmons, who had six points and four rebounds. "We just could never get in sync offensively."

The poor shooting continued for the Kings in the third period. Sacramento had only four field goals near the midway point of the quarter, all from Cousins.

Eventually, in the late stages of the third, the Kings would get over the 30 percent shooting mark for the game. Meanwhile, Memphis maintained its double-digit lead, once reaching 18 points in the third.

That helped Memphis carry a 60-47 lead into the fourth quarter. When Travis Outlaw connected on a 3-pointer with 8:40 left, Sacramento had gotten the Grizzlies' advantage under double digits at 64-56.

The Kings never could cut into Memphis' lead anymore, and Memphis was able to snap its losing skid.

"When you score only 85 points, you need to hold the other team down," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "I thought we were fairly consistent throughout the whole game."

NOTES: The Grizzlies had not lost four straight since last January. ... Cousins entered the game averaging 19.4 points and 11 rebounds in the last five games. ... Speights started his second game of the season. He scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his only previous start. ... The Kings have lost six straight in Memphis. ... In the fourth quarter, Memphis G Tony Allen committed a foul, but Gay stepped to the sideline to inbound the ball. Official Ken Mauer handed Gay the ball before realizing the ruse with an assist from Smart, who was hollering that it was Sacramento's ball. ... Kings G Tyreke Evans, who was 14 of 21 in his last two games, was 3 of 10 from the field, scoring eight points. . The Kings dropped their 10th game in 11 road contests against Western Conference opponents. . The Kings' 30 points in the first half was a season-low for a Grizzlies opponent in any half.

Notebook: Grizzlies 85, Kings 69

Marlon W. Morgan, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:34 PM - Updated Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:34 PM

THE FACTS: After being blown out in three straight games, the Memphis Grizzlies got back to their defensive ways against the Sacramento Kings. The Grizzlies held Sacramento to 34 percent shooting as they snapped their three-game slide with an 85-69 win at FedExForum. All five starters scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, led by Mike Conley's 19, but Tony Allen filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.

QUOTABLE: "I don't get nothing twisted. I'm the defensive catalyst for this team. I am the glue guy. I am the stopper. I can just only worry about my role approaching the game. Whatever else comes with it, so be it. For the most part, just playing hard and playing for my teammates, that was one of the things we talked about yesterday, just playing for us. I think today was a good example of that"
-- Tony Allen

THE STAT: It was a disastrous second quarter shooting for the Kings that allowed the Grizzlies to build the cushion they needed. After trailing 18-14 after one quarter, Sacramento was just 6-for-25 (24 percent) from the floor in the second quarter as they were outscored, 24-16, and trailed the Grizzlies, 42-30, at the half.

TURNING POINT: Although the Grizzlies had a nice cushion throughout the game, the Kings did make a push to pull to within 66-58 with 7:57 to go. But the Grizzlies responded with an 11-5 run, highlighted by an over the head pass from Tony Allen to Rudy Gay for a dunk.

HOT: Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins was the reason the Kings weren't completely blown out. Cousins had his way with the Grizzlies front line, whether it was knocking down jumpers, driving to the basket, or putting back missed shots. Cousins had game highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds.

NOT: The rest of Sacramento's bench combined for 27 points with no one scoring in double figures. They also combined to shoot 11-for-34 (.324) from the floor.

QUOTABLE II: "We just couldn't get the right energy, or rhythm we needed. We scored 14 points in the first quarter, had a lot of missed shots, easy paint shots that we didn't have. We tried to take advantage of the team missing a guy, knowing that Rudy Gay was going to play his game up a little bit, but we just couldn't get anything that we needed tonight."
-- Sacramento coach Keith Smart

NOTABLE: All five Memphis starters had at least five rebounds. Center Marc Gasol led the team in rebounds with 10 to go with his 18 points and three blocked shots. Joining Allen with nine was Marreese Speights, who was starting in place of Zach Randolph who was out with a sprained lower back. Randolph is listed day-to-day. ... Sacramento's 69 points were a season low, as was its .341 shooting percentage. ... The Grizzlies are now 5-0 when Gasol has a double-double. ... Sacramento is now 1-10 on the road against Western Conference teams. ... The Grizzlies held the Kings to 30 points in the first half, a season-low for a Memphis opponent.

UP NEXT: For the Kings, Saturday at Charlotte, Monday at New Orleans, Wednesday vs. Phoenix. For the Grizzlies, Saturday at Chicago, Monday vs. Indiana, Wednesday vs. L.A. Lakers.

• Kings: Honeycutt
• Grizzlies: Pondexter

• Kings: --
• Grizzlies: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #40 Leon Wood, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 15910
• Duration: 2:06