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 "We're not the kind of team that's gonna go up and down the
court," Grizzlies guard Mike Conley said. "We rely on getting stops,
slowing the game down, getting to the line and pulling away slowly.
That's how we do it."
That was how Memphis did it against the Sacramento Kings on
Wednesday, clamping down late and using a surge in the final three
minutes to secure a 99-89 victory at Sleep Train Arena.
Conley, who finished with a game-high 27 points and 10 assists, made
a 3-pointer during Memphis' game-ending 11-4 run. He added fuel to
the argument that he should be picked as a reserve for the Western
Conference in the All-Star Game. The coaches' decisions on which
players will join the fan-picked starters will be revealed Thursday.
"Man, I'm just playing ball," Conley said. "Right now, I'm playing
it at a high level, and doing what my team needs me to do. I'll let
the other guys decide that."
Forward Zach Randolph added 18 points and seven rebounds for
Memphis, which has not cooled down since the start of winter. The
Grizzlies (24-20) won their fourth straight, ninth in the past 10,
and improved to 14-5 since Dec. 21. Since then, they have moved from
13th place to ninth in the Western Conference, only a half-game
behind the eighth-place Dallas Mavericks in the race for the final
playoff spot.
"The chemistry is as good as I've seen it," Memphis coach David
Joerger said. "We're having fun, playing hard."
Guard Isaiah Thomas returned from an illness to score 24 points to
lead Sacramento (15-30), which lost its fourth game in a row.
Thomas, who sat out the second half of Tuesday's loss at Utah after
becoming ill, scored eight of Sacramento's first 14 points before
Conley started hounding him. Thomas missed 11 of his final 18 shots.
Forward Rudy Gay, playing for the first time in four games, added 23
points on 10-for-16 shooting but was unable to prevent the Kings
from being held under 100 points for the first time in their past 14
home games. Gay, returning from a strained left Achilles tendon,
drew the Kings within 86-83 with 3:46 left on a jumper that pushed
him over the 10,000-point mark for his career.
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However, he turned over the ball twice on the Kings' next four
possessions, and Memphis converted both into scores. Grizzlies
forward Tayshaun Prince's long arms created both of the turnovers,
and Prince converted one of them for a breakaway dunk for a 97-87
lead with 1:32 to go.
Gay finished with five turnovers and appeared to tweak his Achilles
injury midway through the fourth quarter.
"He was trying to make plays and maybe being a little too
aggressive," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "I'm not going to make
any excuses for his turnovers. Hopefully, he'll be better in Dallas
on Friday night."
Memphis, which benefited from 17 Sacramento turnovers, held its
opponent below 90 points for the fourth consecutive game. The
Grizzlies have gone eight straight games without allowing 100.
"Defense has been big for us," Conley said. "We're getting three,
four, five stops in a row in bunches."
Forward Marc Gasol added 12 points and five rebounds for the
Grizzlies, and forward Mike Miller came off the bench to score 11.
NOTES: Kings C DeMarcus Cousins sat out his fourth consecutive game.
Cousins hasn't played since suffering a sprained left ankle against
the Houston Rockets on Jan. 22. ... The Kings last were held under
100 points at home in a 97-95 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on
Dec. 3. ... Memphis F Tayshaun Prince has started 802 games since
the start of the 2003-04 season, the second most in the NBA behind
Miami Heat F LeBron James (808). ... The Grizzlies were playing
their sixth game in 13 days. ... Kings G Ben McLemore, the NBA's
Western Conference Rookie of the Month in November, was left off the
rookie roster for the NBA's Rising Stars Game at All-Star weekend.
McLemore is averaging 7.5 points since Dec. 1, and his minutes have
declined since the opening month. ... Grizzlies F Zach Randolph
ranks eighth among active players in double-doubles with 385. ...
Kings F Rudy Gay finished the game with 10,001 career points.
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