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Grizzlies visit lowly Kings at Arco Arena

Dec 29, 2010 - 4:18 PM (Sports Network) - The Memphis Grizzlies will kick off a three-game road trip tonight in California's capital against a lowly Sacramento Kings team hoping to avoid a ninth consecutive loss.

The Grizzlies won their second straight game on Monday in Memphis when Zach Randolph led a balanced attack with 21 points and the Grizz topped the Toronto Raptors, 96-85.

Rudy Gay finished off his night with 18 points, six assists, five steals and five rebounds and both Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo contributed 12 points for Memphis, which has won two straight since a three-game skid.

Tony Allen finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and Randolph added eight boards in the win.

"We have to keep focused after a high," Mayo said. "We get a little relaxed when we win a couple of games in a row."

Memphis, which is 5-11 on the road this year, will also visit Utah and the LA Lakers on its trek.

The Kings, meanwhile, lost their eighth straight game and fell to 0-4 on a five-game homestand, losing a heartbreaker to the LA Clippers. Eric Gordon scored 31 points and Blake Griffin added 24 points and 14 rebounds, as the Clippers escaped ARCO Arena with a 100-99 victory over the Kings despite a late lapse in judgement by Ryan Gomes.

The Clippers were holding a 100-97 lead following Griffin's fastbreak dunk with 5.1 seconds left in regulation. A timeout moved the ball past midcourt, and the Kings put it in the hands of Tyreke Evans.

Gomes was closely guarding the reigning Rookie of the Year and was whistled for a foul outside the three-point line. The referees awarded Evans three free throws with 1.9 ticks remaining, and the first two went down.

The third, however, rattled off the rim. DeMarcus Cousins nearly tipped in the miss, and Evans had a second try just before the buzzer, but his rushed attempt from just inside the foul line rimmed out to seal the crushing defeat.

"On the last play, shot the last free throw shot and it felt good, but it rolled in and out," Evans said. "DeMarcus had a chance to put it back in, but it looked like he got grabbed. I had a chance to put it back in, but it didn't fall. It's a tough one."

Three of the Clippers' 10 wins this season have come against the Kings, who have dropped five straight at home overall and fell to an NBA-worst 5-23.

Evans ended with a game-high 32 points, including five straight during a late 8-0 run that brought Sacramento within 96-95 with 1:23 to play. Omri Casspi and Beno Udrih netted 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Kings, who shot 13-of-26 from three-point range.

Sacramento hasn't dropped nine straight games since March 31-April 13, 2009 and hasn't lost six in a row at home since an eight-game hiccup from Nov. 11- Dec. 6, 2008.

The Memphis franchise lost 25 of its first 26 games in Sacramento but has rebounded to win three of its last four in the capital city, including a 100-91 triumph back on Nov. 6.