Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was back in the starting lineup after a remarkably quick recovery from an ankle injury, but that didn’t stop the Kings from lighting the beam.
Sacramento extended its winning streak to seven games with a 113-109 victory over the Grizzlies on Tuesday at FedExForum in Memphis, moving into a tie for second in the Western Conference.
When it was over, Kings coach Mike Brown gave a long embrace to point guard De’Aaron Fox, who finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in 35 minutes. Fox went 11 of 21 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range, continuing to build on his early All-Star candidacy.
The Grizzlies cut the deficit to one in the frantic final moments, but Fox confidently stepped to the line to make two free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining, ending the suspense.
Harrison Barnes scored 26 points for the Kings (10-6), who are now just a half-game behind the Utah Jazz for first place in the West. Kevin Huerter added 18 points and six rebounds. Domantas Sabonis had nine points, 13 rebounds and eight assists while Malik Monk came off the bench to score 14.
Morant scored 34 points in his return for the Grizzlies (10-8). Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 22 and Dillon Brooks had 14.
A city that is rediscovering its infatuation with the Kings screamed “Light the Beam” as the team opened a tough three-game road trip with a win over a Memphis squad that reached the conference semifinals last season. The Kings have won seven in a row for the first time since Nov. 13-26, 2004.
The excitement was already building in Sacramento after the Kings concluded a perfect four-game home stand with a 137-129 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. The Kings had won six in a row and nine of 11 before embarking on a tough road trip that will take them across the country against the grain of Thanksgiving travel to play three games in four nights. They will visit the Atlanta Hawks on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday before concluding the trip against the Boston Celtics on Friday.
The degree of difficulty on the first leg of the trip increased considerably 40 minutes before tipoff Tuesday. That’s when the Grizzlies announced Morant would return to the starting lineup, just four days after spraining his left ankle.
“Not surprised,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said before the game. “It was just a minor tweak. He’s done a really good job in the past when he has been banged up, just his investment in the recovery process. He had a great last couple of days offloading, and all the treatments he was doing felt good coming in. That’s kind of what changed the designation.”
Jenkins had high praise for the Kings, who went into the game ranked No. 1 in the NBA in scoring (121.1 ppg), field-goal percentage (.502), offensive rating (118.6), true-shooting percentage (.621) and effective field-goal percentage (.585). The Kings were averaging more points than any team since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets and had the highest offensive rating since the NBA merger in 1976.
“Just a team that’s steadily gotten better,” Jenkins said. “… They’re just getting more comfortable with each other. New system. New coach. I think coach Brown does a phenomenal job building discipline and the standard.
“He allows them to also play free at the same time, allows De’Aaron to lead the charge, but you see (Huerter) being a playmaker; Keegan Murray, the rookie, doing what he’s doing; Monk off the bench; Sabonis getting his footing as a playmaker and also a lethal scoring threat as well. Just a lot of confidence over the last couple of weeks. A lot of guys are playing well. It’s not just their starters. It’s guys coming off the bench, too.”
The Kings kept the game close early, trailing 31-28 at the end of the first quarter despite shooting just 36% from the field. They trailed 46-39 midway through the second quarter before Huerter and Monk hit 3-pointers to ignite an 18-5 run that put Sacramento up 57-51.
By halftime, the Kings were shooting 51.1% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range, and leading 64-59. They had 17 assists on 24 baskets with seven steals and just seven turnovers.
The Kings continued to apply defensive pressure in the third quarter. The Grizzlies cut the deficit to one before Fox hit a step-back 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run that put Sacramento up 73-65. The Kings ended the quarter with another 9-2 run to go up 88-76 going into the fourth.
Sacramento led 104-93 following a basket by Fox with 2:51 to play, but the final minutes were filled with tension. The Kings committed a series of turnovers. The Grizzlies took advantage, staging a 15-4 run to get within one on a three-point play by Morant with 5.3 seconds remaining before Fox finally finished them off at the free-throw line.
