Starting Line-ups:
Kings (3-2):
- Tyreke Evans
- Beno Udrih
- Omri Casspi
- Carl Landry
- Samuel Dalembert
Reserves: DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson, Francisco Garcia, Darnell Jackson, Donté Greene, Pooh Jeter, Hassan Whiteside.
In-actives: Antoine Wright (personal), Luther Head (personal).
Grizzlies (2-4):
- Mike Conley
- O.J. Mayo
- Rudy Gay
- Zach Randolph
- Marc Gasol
Reserves: Tony Allen, Darrell Arthur, Greivis Vasquez, Xavier Henry, Acie Law, Hasheem Thabeet, Sam Young.
In-actives/Injuries: DeMarre Carroll (sore right ankle)- out. Hadadi (inactive).
First Quarter Recap:
The Kings started off sloppy, turning the ball over four times in the first seven minutes of the quarter. At the 4:30 mark of the first, Coach Westphal inserted Garcia and Cousins for Udrih and Landry. To my knowledge, this is the first chance we have had to see both Dalembert and Cousins on the floor together this season. Dalembert impressed early, blocking shots, rebounding and even adding six points in his ten minute of play. The Kings fell behind after being out shot and losing the turnover battle seven to one. The Kings closed the quarter with a hay maker three by Casspi to cut the deficit to six.
Kings 24 Grizzlies 30
Leaders:
Kings- Casspi (8) Points; Dalembert (4) Rebounds; Evans (3) Assists.
Grizz- Randolph (9) Points; Gasol (3) Rebounds; Gay/Randolph (2) Assists.
FG%- Kings 50.0% Grizz 54.2%
Rebounds- Kings 11 Grizz 9
Assists/TO- Kings 7/7 Grizz 6/1
Second Quarter Recap:
The second quarter looked eerily similar to the first quarter to start. The Kings continued to turn the ball over but the Jason Thompson, playing the small forward position, was all over the court. DeMarcus Cousins continued his fouling ways, lasting just about ten total minutes before picking up his third. Tyreke Evans came alive in the second, finishing the half with six points, five rebounds and four assists. The Kings had the lead down to two but finished the quarter with a four point deficit.
Kings 49 Grizzlies 53
Leaders:
Kings- Evans (12) Points; Dalembert (6) Rebounds; Evans (4) Assists.
Grizz- Gay (15) Points; Arthur (5) Rebounds; Gay/Randolph (2) Assists.
FG%- Kings 51.1% Grizz 51.3%
Rebounds- Kings 20 Grizz 19
Assists/TO- Kings 11/12 Grizz 8/6
Third Quarter Recap:
The Kings came out in the third and turned the ball over six times in the first four minutes. With 7:47 left in the quarter, Grizz 67 Kings 53. To combat the Memphis run, the Kings turned to Darnell Jackson and Francisco Garcia early, similar to the first quarter. Both players responded; Jackson defensively as he stopped Zach Randolph on consecutive plays while Garcia got out and ran the floor both on offense and defense. With :26 remaining in the third, Darrell Arthur of the Grizzlies went down with an apparent right leg injury, his return is extremely doubtful. The Grizzlies pushed the lead to 14 on multiple occasions and finished the quarter up 13. The Kings turned the ball over a total of 17 times through three quarters which is unacceptable.
Kings 67 Grizzlies 80
Leaders:
Kings- Evans (20) Points; Dalembert (8) Rebounds; Evans (5) Assists.
Grizz- Gay (23) Points; Arthur/Randolph (7) Rebounds; Gay/Conley (3) Assists.
FG%- Kings 46.6% Grizz 48.6%
Rebounds- Kings 29 Grizz 34
Assists/TO- Kings 13/17 Grizz 11/9
Fourth Quarter Recap:
The Kings have no answer for Rudy Gay but they did figure out a way to trim the Grizzlies lead. At the six mark, the Kings trailed by eight and had limited their turnovers in the quarter to two. The Kings went back to the big line-up of Cousins and Dalembert down the stretch after Darnell Jackson played very well for a lot of the third and fourth quarter. Carl Landry played his worst game of the season, scoring four points and not grabbing a single rebound in 19 minutes while allowing Randolph to run rough shot over him on defense. The Kings had a shot to cut the lead to six during the final three minutes but DeMarcus Cousins missed both of his free throws and Arco Arena cleared out early.
Kings lose!
Kings 91 Grizzlies 100
Leaders:
Kings- Evans (30) Points; Dalembert (12) Rebounds; Evans (5) Assists.
Grizz- Gay (32) Points; Randolph (11) Rebounds; Conley (5) Assists.
FG%- Kings 43.0% Grizz 48.2%
Rebounds- Kings 41 Grizz 43
Assists/TO- Kings 16/20 Grizz 13/15
I will have post game notes and quotes up in the morning including the evasive Coach Westphal’s answer to why no Donté Greene again tonight. Also tomorrow morning, I’ll post up a very interesting interview with Coach Jim Eyen were he goes pretty in-depth about most aspects of the defense.
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