Grizzlies Rout Kings On Valentine's Day 124-110
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP/CBS13) — Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 25 points and had 12 rebounds to offset a late technical foul and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings 124-110 on Sunday night.
Sacramento missed eight of its first 10 shots. De'Aaron Fox had 23 points and nine assists for the Kings.
Marvin Bagley III was held out for a second consecutive game with left calf soreness. DaQuan Jeffries started in place of Bagley and had three rebounds, but did not score. Jeffries sat out 21 games this season with ankle and back injuries.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and added four rebounds and four assists. Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield scored 8 points each.
Ja Morant added 16 points and 10 assists despite a rough 7-for-18 shooting night from the field. Dillon Brooks scored 22 points and Kyle Anderson had 17 points and six rebounds for Memphis, which had lost five of six.
Two days after blowing a 20-point, first-quarter lead in a loss to the Lakers, the Grizzlies built another early advantage and withstood a late run by the Kings.
The game got chippy late after Sacramento's Chimezie Metu dunked over Valanciunas and held onto the rim with both hands. Valanciuanas continued to stand under the rim and did not move to allow Metu to land as players from both teams ran in. The play was reviewed and Valanciunas was called for an unsportsmanlike technical foul.
A few minutes later, Valanciunas dunked and hung onto the rim for several moments, even though no one was near him.
Memphis had seven players score in double figures, led by as many as 24 points and scored 68 points in the paint.
It wasn't just the Grizzlies starters who stood out.
Xavier Tillman drove the lane for a thunderous one-handed dunk and Sean McDermott followed with another dunk off a baseline drive moments later.
The Grizzlies had not won in Sacramento since Dec. 31, 2017.
The teams were scheduled to play back-to-backs in Memphis in late January before the games were postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
