The Lead: What we learned tonight: The Grizzlies don’t need Zach Randolph … when they play a home game against a bad Sacramento Kings team in a bit of disarray. But coming off a 1-3 start, a terrible loss in Chicago, and a bevy of injury-related issues, the Grizzlies needed a good performance to tamp down the growing anxiety and a win any way they could get it.
So this game, in which Mike Conley returned to action, Rudy Gay got in a groove, Tony Allen made things happen (mostly for good), and the team scored 72 paint points even without Randolph was a huge relief.
After squandering a 17 point lead early in the 2nd quarter to let the Kings tie the game at 50-50, the Grizzlies carried a 52-50 lead into the half on a buzzer-beating tip-in from Gay. But they reasserted their control with a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Kings 35-18 and feeding off a swarming defense reminiscent of last year’s Grizzlies at their best, turning Kings turnovers (19 overall) into transition scores (21 on the game).
Man of the Match: So many Grizzlies played well tonight that there are plenty of candidates here. But, though Rudy Gay (23 points and 8 rebounds on 10-16 shooting) had his best game of the season, Marc Gasol (14 points on 7-10 shooting, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) continued his terrific early play, and Sam Young (20 points on 8-13 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) made a strong case for a regular rotation spot, Mike Conley was the most meaningful player on the floor for the Grizzlies tonight.
