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Kings hoping to stave off playoff elimination vs. Grizzlies

Mar 26, 2008 - 2:44 PM Memphis (18-52) at Sacramento (31-39) 10:00 pm EDT

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) - The Sacramento Kings are all but eliminated from the playoff race.

The Kings look to keep their fading postseason hopes alive, if only for one more game, when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Sacramento (31-39) owns 11th place in the Western Conference standings and is 12 games behind the eighth place Golden State Warriors (43-27) for the final playoff spot. However, with only 12 games remaining, the Kings will have to be perfect down the stretch if they plan on qualifying for the postseason.

Sacramento failed to take a step in the right direction on Monday, suffering their third straight loss during a 108-100 setback to the Houston Rockets. Kevin Martin scored 18 points to lead the Kings while Francisco Garcia added 17 off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have been eliminated from playoff contention for some time now but had put together back-to-back wins before enduring a 120-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

Rudy Gay scored 30 points for Memphis and continues to improve in his second NBA season, averaging nearly 20 points and six rebounds a game.