The Memphis Grizzlies snapped their three-game skid with a 97-83 victory Monday night over the Sacramento Kings. The Grizzlies improved to 28-9 at home and 11-7 this season on the second night of a back-to-back. With tonight's win and Houston's loss, the Grizzlies moved a half-game ahead of the Rockets for the Southwest Division lead and a return to second place in the Western Conference.
Mike Conley led all Grizzlies scorers with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-14 (.429) shooting including 2-of-6 from beyond the arc while blocking two shots for the 10th time in his career. Jeff Green contributed 16 points on 6-of-11 (.545) shooting and added four rebounds and four assists including 2-of-5 from deep. Green recorded a double-digit scoring game for the 58th time this season. Kosta Koufos recorded eight points on 3-of-6 shooting and set a new personal best for rebounds when coming off the bench (12).
The Grizzlies held the Kings to .407 shooting on 33-of-81 shooting, while Memphis shot .458 on 38-of-83 field goal attempts. The Grizzlies are now 37-4 when outshooting their opponents and 39-9 when holding their opponents to under 100 points. Memphis also outscored Sacramento 44-40 in the paint and 15-10 in fast break points.
Without DeMarcus Cousins in lineup, Rudy Gay posted 24 points on 10-of-18 (.557) and left the game late in the third quarter and did not return after a collision with Marc Gasol.
Memphis won the season series with the Kings 3-1 and have won 10 consecutive home games against Sacramento. They have not lost to the Kings at FedExForum since February 20, 2009.
Memphis will tip-off again Friday, April 3 at home where they battle the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m. CT.
Key Stats of the Night
- The Grizzlies swatted a season-high 11 blocks (had previously blocked nine twice, most recently vs. Brooklyn on Feb. 10… Eight out of 10 Memphis players who appeared in tonight’s game had at least one block.
Key Run of the Night
- Memphis held a four-point lead entering the second quarter but outscored Sacramento in the period 32-23… The Grizzlies went on a 17-5 run leading up to the 6:57 mark in the period to build it’s largest lead of the game at 16 points… Memphis led the game wire-to-wire for the fifth time this season.
Quotes
Player Notes
- Mike Conley led all Grizzlies scorers with 18 points on 6-of-14 (.429) shooting including 2-of-6 (.333) from beyond the arc while blocking two shots for the 10th time in his career (career high for single game is three at Chicago on Jan. 19, 2013).
- Jeff Green scored 16 points on 6-of-11 (.545) shooting and added four rebounds and four assists including shooting 2-of-5 (.400) from behind the three-point line.… Green recoreded a double-digit scoring game for the 58th time (31 with Memphis) this season in 71 appearances.
- Kosta Koufos (eight points on 3-of-6 shooting) hauled down a season-high 12 rebounds off the bench for the Grizzlies while tying a season-high three blocks… Koufos’ 12 rebounds set a new personal best when coming off the bench.
- Rudy Gay posted 24 points on 10-of-18 (.556) shooting after scoring 28 points in the last matchup (Feb. 25) against Memphis, his highest total against his old team… Gay has scored 20 or more points in 12 of the last 15 games.
Next Home Game
Memphis will continue their homestand facing off against the Thunder on Friday, April 3.