A Grizzlies Kings recap of Sunday night in Sacramento turns on one stretch: 106-106 with 5:41 left, and an 11-0 Memphis run that produced a 123-112 road win. Ty Jerome finished with 31 points, and the Grizzlies left 3-0 while the Kings dropped to 0-3.
Grizzlies Kings recap: the 11-0 run that settled it
Memphis had built a 14-point lead and spent the third quarter watching it drain away. Domantas Sabonis completed a three-point play with 5:41 remaining to tie the game at 106, and the Grizzlies answered with the next 11 points.
Isaiah Stewart started it by turning a five-footer into three points with a made free throw. On Memphis' next possession, Cedric Coward tipped in a Cameron Boozer miss to make it a five-point game.
Jerome then scored six straight: a 27-footer, followed by an eight-footer on which he was fouled, plus the resulting free throw. Down 117-106 with 3:57 to play, Sacramento never came closer than seven.
Ty Jerome's 31 points and a perfect night at the line
Jerome's 31 came with a team-high six assists and a 14-for-14 performance at the free-throw line, the sort of line that once defined a guard's value more than any shooting percentage. Jaylen Wells added 16 points, with Stewart and Cam Spencer contributing 13 apiece.
The shot distribution was flat in the way coaches describe as a well-spaced floor: Memphis kept the paint and the arc occupied on the same possession rather than collapsing into one side of the court. That balance is what survived Sacramento's comeback.
Cameron Boozer and Cedric Coward cover for Zach Edey
Memphis rested star center Zach Edey on the first night of a road back-to-back, and the frontcourt responded with two double-doubles. Boozer posted 16 points and 11 rebounds; Coward had 15 and 11.
The Grizzlies used an 11-0 run early in the second quarter to take a lead that reached double digits before halftime and stood at 83-69 in the fifth minute of the third. That cushion is what the late surge had to rescue.
Zach LaVine's 37 points go unrewarded
LaVine was the game's leading scorer with 37, and it bought Sacramento nothing. Rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. added 22 points and a game-high seven assists, while Sabonis, in foul trouble much of the night, still managed 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Precious Achiuwa chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds for a third Kings double-double. Sacramento has now lost all three of its games this season, and the pattern in this one was familiar: enough scoring to tie the game late, not enough stops to keep it tied.
What comes next for Memphis and Sacramento
Memphis (3-0) plays at Utah on Monday night, the second half of the back-to-back that kept Edey out of this one. The Grizzlies are 3-0 for the first time since 2017, a roster that bore little resemblance to this group.
Sacramento's next fixture was not listed in the original report. The immediate task is smaller and more specific: finding a defensive possession that holds when the game is tied in the last six minutes.
The original report is from gmanetwork.com, via Field Level Media/Reuters.
