On Friday night at Golden 1 Center, the Memphis Grizzlies fell to the Sacramento Kings, 138-133. With the loss, the Grizzlies are now 23-12 on the season.
The Kings came out firing, dropping 46 points in the first quarter – the most the Grizzlies have surrendered in a single quarter all season. That explosive start gave the Kings a commanding 14-point lead, 46-32, by the end of the period.
The Grizzlies came back and made a game of it, though, staying competitive until the very end, when Sacramento made the necessary plays in the clutch to pull away and secure the win.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins expressed disappointment after the loss, praising the Kings’ strong start. He cited excessive turnovers and defensive lapses as key issues, emphasizing that allowing 46 first-quarter points on the road is unacceptable. Jenkins lauded his team’s resilience in overcoming a 15-point deficit but still was upset about their defensive standard.
He said, “Great fight, but we’ve got to set a different tone, especially on the road in the first quarter, and we can’t be bleeding points like this. Defensively, you give up 138 points and score 133 – you can be like, Yay, on the offense, but defensively, that’s not our identity.”
Rookie Jaylen Wells, a Sacramento native, had a memorable homecoming with a career-high 30 points, highlighted by an impressive 8-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Despite his outstanding performance, the Grizzlies fell short, moving to 2-2 on their five-game road trip.
Jaren Jackson Jr. delivered another strong game with 28 points, six rebounds, and five assists before fouling out — with all six fouls assessed in the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, Desmond Bane chipped in with 22 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, providing a solid all-around contribution.
To round it out, Scottie Pippen Jr. contributed 16 points and 5 assists, while Luke Kennard had a strong showing off the bench with 11 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds, narrowly missing a triple-double.
The Grizzlies are wrapping up their five-game road trip tonight against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, with a tipoff at 7:30 p.m. CT.
