It all came down to one play in Tennessee on Thursday night.
0.3 seconds remained in regulation as the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies battled to the buzzer for the win.
For the second time in as many games, the purple and black held at least a 20-point first half lead, but let their opponents come back. Inside their own arena, the Grizzlies would not go down easy.
The home team overcame a 26-point first-half deficit and tied the game at 106-all with just 92 seconds left.
DeMarcus Cousins took center stage as time wound down. The Kings big man blocked a shot on defense and added two free throws and a crucial bucket on offense, but the Grizzlies still had a chance.
Vince Carter, who proved to play a pivotal role in the game, inbounded the ball from the sideline. Courtney Lee sprinted toward the basket, controlled the pass and laid it in as the red light flashed. The Grizzlies celebrated, but the referees needed confirmation.
The officials huddled at the table looking to see if Kings defender Ryan Hollins tipped the inbounds pass, which would have ran the clock out and solidified the win for the Kings. But it was determined no contact was made and the visitors were sent home packing with the one-point loss.
“We lost the game, but not because of that last play,” stated Sacramento’s Head Coach Michael Malone to the media. “We had a tremendous first quarter, but this was the Dallas game all over again. We had a 24-point lead in that game and let it slip away and we had a 26-point lead tonight and let it slip away.”
The Kings allowed thirty or more points in the final three quarters as Memphis inched its way back into the game.
“[We] have to learn to play with the lead,” continued Malone. “I am very disappointed with this loss.”
If the ending was bizarre, the start was equally strange.
The Grizzlies missed all four of their opening shots, including three wide-open layups. DMC and Co. took advantage of the home team’s cold start jumping out to an 11-2 lead three minutes into the game with seven points coming from the Kings star center.
A minute later, forward Jason Thompson found Ben McLemore, who drained a contested three-pointer from the corner. With a 14-2 lead, the Kings defense went to work and caused a quick turnover.
The ensuing fast break gave Rudy Gay a monster slam after the go-ahead feed from Darren Collison. The dunk gave the Kings an 8-for-12 start from the floor, while Memphis made just 2 of its first 14 attempts.
Reminiscent of Tuesday’s first quarter at Dallas, the purple and black held a large lead (23-6) just past the midway mark of the opening frame. Cousins was able to find breathing room in the paint as No. 15 broke the double-digit mark with a reverse layup and a free throw at the 4:43 mark in the first quarter.
Gay quickly joined Big Cuz in double figures as he tallied five quick points on a triple and a dunk. McLemore added an incredible three as the shot clock sounded - his second of the night - near the end of the first period to give the Kings a 38-16 lead.
Sacramento shot an eye-popping 78-percent in the opening frame, while Memphis shot a meager 18-percent.
As the reserves entered the game, the Grizzlies started to close the gap.
After Nik Stauskas and Carl Landry connected for a pick-n-roll layup to extend the lead to 44-22 with 9:12 left in the second, the home team used a 16-7 spurt to cut into the deficit.
Malone quickly reinserted Cousins, Gay and Collison and the trio helped weather the storm with their own run. This time, the River City used a speedy 11-6 burst to go back up by 20, 58-38.
McLemore tallied a pair of buckets to spark the visitor’s run, while Collison drained his first triple of the game and fourth of the season. Landry led the charge on defense as he forced a steal, which led to a fast-break dunk for Gay.
Despite the Grizzlies outscoring their guests, 30-24, in the second period, Sacramento still owned a 62-46 lead at halftime thanks to a whopping 55-percent shooting clip from the floor through 24 minutes. The Kings 62 points was the highest first-half total allowed by the Grizzlies all season.
Gay and McLemore continued the offensive barrage early in the second half as the River City jumped out to a 73-52 lead on an 11-6 run. No. 8 hit a pair of fade-away buckets as he quickly reached 19 points on just nine field goals before McLemore earned his third trifecta of the night.
The Grizzlies, once again, bounced back as Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph found their stroke combining for 19 points in the third period, but Sacramento still controlled a 91-76 lead heading into the fourth.
Nik Stauskas scratched the scoreboard less than a minute into the final frame with his first triple of the game and sixth of his rookie season, but Memphis responded with a monumental run.
The Grizzlies used the next seven minutes to go on a 24-10 run and pull within single digits, 104-100, with four minutes left.
The ageless Vince Carter sparked the home team’s big run as he drained back-to-back threes. The Grizzlies had surged back from almost certain defeat.
Memphis point guard Mike Conley, who Coach Malone called the most-underrated point guard in the League before the game, cut the lead to two as he drilled a floater with 3:34 left in regulation. Conley finished the game with 22 points and 11 assists.
Collison - who also broke the 20-point plateau - answered right back for the Kings with a jumper from the top of the key.
The Grizzlies would not go away though - not in their house.
Randolph added a layup before a long rebound led to a Conley layup, which tied the game with 1:32 remaining.
Showcasing his budding All-Star skills, DMC was dominant in the final minute. First, the Kings 6-foot-11 center rejected Randolph’s shot in the paint before facing-up against Gasol, taking him to the rack and scoring in traffic.
The lay-in put Cousins at 20 points for the game - he would add two more on free throws in the final six seconds, but even Big Cuz couldn’t slow down Memphis.
Courtney Less earned his 15th and 16th points of the evening on the last-second layup to give his team the win.
Gay paced Sacramento’s attack with 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while DMC (22), Collison (20), McLemore (17) and Landry (10) also finished in double-figures.
For DMC, the 22-point, 12-rebound night was his sixth double-double of the season.
Rudy Returns to Memphis
It didn’t take fans inside FedEx Forum very long to regret Rudy Gay’s homecoming. After cheering for the former member of the Grizzlies before the game, the fans quickly noticed their former small forward’s improvement since leaving.
In the midst of arguably his best start of his nine-year career, Gay was on fire early against his former squad. No. 8 tallied 13 points in the first period on 5-of-6 shooting, including 1-for-1 from deep.
The Baltimore native sandwiched a pair of dunks with a triple from the top of the key and his big first quarter may have lasted longer if it wasn’t for an awkward landing on his left ankle on a defensive rebound. Gay landed on teammate Jason Thompson before heading to the bench. He re-entered a few minutes later in the second period and found his groove again.
Sacramento’s savvy veteran continued to find the bottom of the net as the night went on. Gay finished the game with a team-high 25 points - his sixth 20-point game of the season and fourth in the last five games. He also added 7 rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Starters Shine
Against Memphis, the Kings starting group tallied a combined plus-minus ratio of +54 points. DMC led the way with a rating of plus-19, while McLemore and Gay were both plus-10. Sacramento’s five starters also combined for 90 points against the Grizzlies.