• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Gay leads balanced attack as Grizzlies top Kings

Jan 4, 2012 - 6:51 AM Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Rudy Gay led six Grizzlies in double figures, netting 23 points in Memphis' 113-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Sam Young and O.J. Mayo added 20 and 16 points, respectively, off the bench for Memphis, which was coming off an embarrassing 40-point loss at Chicago on Sunday.

Mike Conley, who missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle, chipped in 14 points and seven assists in his return, while Marc Gasol logged 14 points and 15 rebounds for the victors.

Jimmer Fredette led Sacramento with 17 points, while Tyreke Evans was held to nine points in defeat, the Kings' fourth in five games.

"We had a hard time shooting the ball tonight," Kings head coach Paul Westphal said. "I thought we played hard, but we didn't play sharp at times."

The Grizzlies turned the game in their favor with a dominating third quarter that saw them outscore the Kings, 35-18.

The score was tied, 52-52 early in the frame, before Memphis went on a 9-0 run to take control. Another eight-point spurt, sparked by Young's back-to-back layups, pushed the margin to 87-64 later in the stanza.

The hosts held an 87-68 cushion entering the fourth and were never seriously threatened in the final 12 minutes.

"If we come out and run our plays like we did tonight...we're going to be pretty effective," Young said.

Memphis scored 11 straight points at the tail end of the first quarter and headed to the second holding a 31-17 lead.

The Kings slowly chipped away by hitting 12-of-18 from the floor in the second stanza. They pulled even at 50-all on Isaiah Thomas' two free throws with 16.1 seconds remaining, though Gay's tip-in beat the halftime buzzer.

Game Notes

The Grizzlies played without All-Star forward Zach Randolph, who is out indefinitely with a bruised right knee suffered in the loss to Chicago... DeMarcus Cousins, who reportedly demanded a trade from the Kings, did not start but played 22 1/2 minutes, scored four points and grabbed right rebounds...J.J. Hickson logged 12 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento...Tony Allen rounded out Memphis' double-digit scorers with 10 points.