Kings light the beam in NBA record-tying performance against Grizzlies
The Kings fired the lasers and lit up the scoreboard long before lighting the beam Monday night with a blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Kings started the onslaught by matching an NBA record for 3-point goals in a quarter in a 133-100 victory over the Grizzlies before a sellout crowd of 17,821 at Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento tied a league record with 12 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished 22 of 40 (.550) from long distance, one shy of the franchise record for 3-point goals in a game.
“Most of those shots that we made were shots that we preach and drill almost daily with the way that teams are playing us, so our guys did a fantastic job just keeping the game simple offensively in the first quarter,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “It was beautiful to watch.”
Trey Lyles came off the bench to score 24 points for the Kings (27-19), making 8 of 11 from the field and 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Lyles established a new career high for 3-point goals in a game.
Lyles said the long-range attack was part of his team’s game plan.
“We talked about it a lot,” Lyles said. “Every time we’ve played this team, they packed the paint and the kick-ahead pass was open a majority of the time, so we practiced that in shootaround this morning. And we’ve been doing it all year, so guys were just on time, on target, and it’s easy to make shots when guys are on time and on target.”
Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray scored 20 points apiece. De’aaron Fox had 17 points and 10 assists.
Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He posted his sixth triple-double of the season and extended his franchise record with his 23rd consecutive doubledouble.
Sabonis recorded 10 or more assists for the third consecutive game, matching the longest such streak of his career. He tied the longest streak of double-digit assists by a Kings big man in franchise history, matching Vlade Divac (2004) and Sam Lacey (1977, 1979).
Desmond Bane scored 21 points to lead the Grizzlies (31-16). Jaren Jackson Jr. had 19 points. Dillon Brooks had 13 while Tyus Jones added 12 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
The Grizzlies were vulnerable on the second night of a back-toback with point guard Ja Morant and center Steven Adams both out of the lineup. Morant (left ankle soreness) and Adams (right knee soreness) were ruled out 30 minutes before tipoff after being listed as questionable earlier in the day.
The Kings came out firing from the start. Barnes made 3-pointers from both corners on the first two possessions and then hit one from the top of the arc, scoring nine points in the first 2:08.
Barnes, who Brown called “irreplaceable “with the NBA trade deadline less than three weeks away, didn’t stop there. He knocked down two more 3s in the first four minutes to pass Francisco Garcia for fifth on the franchise’s all-time list with 479 3-point goals.
Murray joined in on the fun, going 3 of 3 from beyond the arc to begin the game. Barnes and Murray combined for Sacramento’s first 24 points. Lyles, Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk came off the bench to combine for four first-quarter 3-pointers of their own. Monk has struggled for weeks, but he responded to a direct challenge from Brown, posting 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
“I jumped our team pretty good this morning about our inability to rebound (in Saturday’s 129-127 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers),” Brown said. “Malik got an earful from me, as well as others. He stepped up with nine rebounds tonight. I don’t know if he’s capable of getting nine every night, but we need him to rebound.”
The Kings finished with a 5231 rebounding advantage against the Grizzlies. They shot 55.7% and tallied 37 assists on 49 made baskets, demonstrating their firepower despite committing 25 turnovers.
The Kings went 12 of 13 from beyond the arc in the opening period, tying the NBA record for 3-point goals in a quarter, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They matched the Phoenix Suns (April 12, 2021) and Portland Trail Blazers (May 10, 2021).
Sacramento led 47-33 at the end of the first quarter and went up by 16 in the second, but then the Kings cooled off and the Grizzlies battled back. The Kings went 1 of 9 from 3-point range in the second quarter while the Grizzlies scored 15 points off nine Sacramento turnovers to cut the deficit to five at the half.
The Grizzlies tied the game on a 3-pointer by Jackson early in the third quarter and claimed the lead on a driving layup by Bane. The Kings were clinging to a tenuous one-point lead midway through the third, but they staged a late 10-0 run to carry a 100-90 advantage into the fourth.
The Kings reached the century mark in the third quarter for the ninth time this season. They improved to 8-1 when they score 100 points or more through the first three quarters.
Memphis got within seven early in the fourth quarter, but the Kings broke the game open with a 16-0 run and outscored the Grizzlies 30-4 over the final 9:45.
No matter how many points his team scores, Brown always brings the conversation back to defense.
“As fast as our guys are and the understanding that they have with the spacing, if we get stops like I truly believe we’re capable of doing, it’s going to be tough,” Brown said. “Because we can shoot, we can score, and when we don’t score … a lot of times it has to do with us, a silly turnover here, a silly turnover there, a forced shot over there. Our guys know, if we keep it simple offensively and we defend the way we’re capable of, we can run a lot of people out of the gym.”