Tag: Grizzlies vs. Sacramento

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Kings Outlast Grizzlies in High-Scoring Affair

Jaylen Wells shoots the ball during the game against the Sacramento Kings on January 3, 2025 (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

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.

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies lose game and Gasol in Sacramento

Memphis led confidently for the first half, boosted by nice bench play, only to come out flat in the third quarter. The Kings’ defense overall was impressive in the second half, and allowed Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox to help them claw their way back from behind to win the game. Far worse, Marc Gasol left the game after fighting for a rebound when De’Aaron Fox came down on his head/neck/shoulder area.

But first, some fun things that happened in last night’s game.

Usually when the Grizzlies play the Kings, nothing too notable happens. You don’t get storylines like ZBo vs the CP3 and Blake Griffin Clippers. Tonight was different, however.

Grizzlies and Kings factions were at each others throats on social media about which franchise had the better draft pick: Jaren Jackson or Marvin Bagley? The real deal outlived the hype. Jackson showed his skill and touch, posting and toasting Bagley in the first half. Bagley fought back in the second half, proving difficult for Jackson to guard without fouling.

De’Aaron Fox and Mike Conley’s duel down the stretch was a treat as well. Conley scored in the 20s for the second game in a row. Fox, however, stole the show in this game. He was unstoppable in the fourth quarter.

I’ve seen Greg Wissinger, the editor of SB Nation’s Sactown Royalty, keep track of which players that sat out (or were afraid of) playing against Fox. Fox took over the game at the end, and I’m legitimately going to have nightmares about him for a week. He finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists.

The Grizzlies had no answer for Fox. I kinda wish the Grizzlies had thrown Andrew Harrison out onto Fox late in the game, but there was too much ground to make up.

Fox’s defensive energy was equally impressive. Jackson fouled out with 1:24 left in the game while trying to set a screen for Conley that Fox fought around. The rookie bumped Fox, and Fox slid back on the court, clapping his hands gleefuly as a dejected Jackson shuffled to the bench. I know I’m not the only one looking forward to all the Bagley vs Jackson battles yet to come.

Grizzlies lose game and Gasol in Sacramento (3)

I wish these matchups had defined the night. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies suffered a potentially catastrophic blow when Gasol went down. Was Gasol already dealing with an injury before this happened? He did look off in the second half, airballing a shot or two. Peter Edminston of The Athletic had this to say:

Grizzlies lose game and Gasol in Sacramento

On the other hand, maybe the crazy pace the Kings imposed gassed Gasol’s legs.

Grizzlies lose game and Gasol in Sacramento (2)

In any case, Gasol laid on the ground for an uncharacteristically long time before getting up and walking to the locker room. Worst-case scenarios are festering on the mind for the Grizzlies and their playoff hopes. If Gasol suffered a serious injury, the tanking conversation is likely around the corner.

P.S.

Wayne Selden started to break out a little bit in this game. He shot spot up threes well (3-6) and had a particularly bouncy hop step that allowed him to knife between some Sacramento defenders and get into the paint for a bucket.