Grizzlies Keep Kings In the Mud for 121-117 Win

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Last night the Memphis Grizzlies put away the Sacramento Kings to extend their home game winning streak to six and home record to 12-1 for the last thirteen games. With a final score of 121-117, it was the eighth straight game that the Grizzlies have scored more than 100 points.

This tied the current franchise record for games where more than 100 points were scored. Six Grizzlies finished the game in double-digits. Jeff Green, Marc Gasol and Courtney Lee combined for 69 points on 65.7% shooting.

The game came down to defense again. Pre-game Coach Dave Joerger’s mantra was defense. Protect the paint, don’t allow scoring to cause defensive relaxation, the urgency to get stops; all part of his pre-game key factors. The Grizzlies followed this game plan for the first three quarters. The team took an early lead in the first quarter and finished with 36 points; a 14-point lead. The offensive success would continue and the Grizzlies would lead by as many as 22 points. Despite Mike Conley not finding anything offensively, his teammates were on fire. Heading into the fourth quarter the Grizzlies were shooting 53.2% from the field and were leading the Kings by 15 points.

The fourth quarter would be a different story all-together. The Kings would manage to fight their way back into the game and with 18.7 seconds on the clock the game was within one point. The Grizzlies would lock down on defense and keep the Kings from ever taking the lead or scoring another point for the remainder of the game. While it was frustrating to see the Kings come back, the Memphis Grizzlies won another game “in the mud”.

The Good:
Jeff Green.

I’m just going to leave this right here…

Jeff Green scored 29 points last night. This was an impressive feat. Love him or hate him, he was your leading scorer of the night. Jeff Green connected for 11 of his 16 shots and was 3/5 from the three-point line. He was all over the court last night. Here’s to hoping Jeff Green continues his 20+ point streak and to help push the Grizzlies over the 100 point mark.

Marc Gasol.

Gasol played hard last night. He was in this game. Gasol was the second leading scorer of the night with 22 points. He also led the team in rebounding with his six defensive rebounds. (This isn’t all that good but hey, he was at least rebounding.)

Courtney Lee.

I am never going to get tired of this:

Guess who’s hitting threes again? #CLeeForThreeeeeeee

Courtney Lee making shots shots shots

Looks like C Lee got his swagger back.

Lee shot 100% from the field last night and 83.3% from the line. He scored 18 points and connected a perfect 3/3 beyond the arc. He was on fire and he has been. It appears that the shooting struggles plaguing him earlier this season are working themselves out.

The bad:
The Offensive Rebound struggle.

Y’all the offensive rebound struggle was real last night. The Grizzlies had TWO offensive rebounds. That’s it. This season they have averaged 10.4 per game while allowing opponents to grab 9.8. The Kings were able to snag 18 total offensive rebounds. They scored 18 second chance points. The Grizzlies scored 2. Zach Randolph and Mario Chalmers were the only two Grizzlies to grab those rebounds at one apiece. This team is stronger than that. Having a presence on the offensive boards is part of the fiber of this team. Last night, allowing the Kings opportunities on the boards gave them a chance to get back into a game that they otherwise may not have had.

Mike Conley.

Mike Conley took six shot attempts last night. That is the lowest amount of shots he has taken this entire season. While he struggled offensively for the majority of the night his Fourth Quarter performance helped lead the Grizzlies to their win. He didn’t take many shots, something that we are not used to seeing. He did however, take the shots that mattered. True to his “Captain Clutch” nickname Mike Conley was clutch in the fourth. He shot 3/4 from the field, scoring all 8 of his game points during the 4th. The Grizzlies needed those points to sneak away with what should have been an easy win.

The Ugly:
The 40 point 4th Quarter by the Kings.

The Grizzlies took their foot off gas. It was as if Coach Joerger knew that would happen. He talked about it pre-game. The inevitable decline in defensive intensity when the Grizzlies find offense success. “When we start scoring, we do tend to relax defensively.” Tend to? How about relaxing when we have a lead is much a part of our heartbeat as Grit-and-Grind. The Grizzlies are great under pressure. They have the second-best win record in “crunch time” games in the NBA. While the Grizzlies are able to secure a win when they are in these tough positions it is still difficult to watch your team blow a 15 point lead and allow the Kings to bring the game within one point. Memphis was up by ten points with 2:39 left in the game and by the time the clock read 0:18.7 the Kings had went on a 13-4 run. This was after the tough technicals, this was after the few unfriendly whistles. This was just another incident of the Grizzlies relaxing defensively. The game is always on the line and wins are needed. Allowing this kind of quarter is costly and one thing the Grizzlies are going to have to stop doing to find continued success.

Other quick stats:

– The Kings leading scorers were DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins and Rudy Gay. Cousins would boogie his was to 17 points by the end of the game. Rudy Gay finished the night with 21 and was the team’s leading scorer. 13 of his 21 points came in the fourth quarter.

– The Kings out-rebounded the Grizzlies 51-32 and scored 31 fast break points.

– The Grizzlies forced 19 turnovers by the Kings. Those turnovers led to 26 Grizzlies’ points.

– Memphis shot 44.4% from the three-point line, connecting 8 of their 18 three-point shots.

Next up for Memphis are the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. The Grizzlies will look to extend their win streak to 4 against a team fighting to claw their up in the West.

Tabitha Smith

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