Kings Beat the Grizzlies 102-90
The Sacramento Kings beat the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night 102-90 at Sleep Train Arena.
"Winning is a drug to competitors and these guys should feel awful good about what they did tonight," Kings head coach George Karl said following his second win with the team.
DeMarcus Cousins is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 20 points and 12 rebounds. He finished Wednesday's win with 16 points, nine boards and six assists.
Karl told Cousins after the game that even his bad games aren't that bad.
"You're 16, nine and six and you had a bad game, to me that's an awful good sign," Karl said. "They're not many guys that can put those numbers up in 24 minutes."
The Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter and outscored the Kings 25-14 in the quarter. Cousins and Zach Randolph were being physical throughout the game and started trash talking and Randolph received a technical.
"He [Cousins] wears his emotions on his sleeves and my preference would be that he would learn to control them," Karl said. "DeMarcus has to continue to understand that we'll get better at making him better but he has to play and make us better, too."
Rudy Gay had his 33rd 20-point game of the season finishing with 28 points, five boards and six assists against his former team.
Jason Thompson made some big plays on both ends of the floor for the Kings. He tied a career high with four blocks and contributed a double-double adding 10 points and 11 boards.
George Karl had a grin on his face during the post game while talking about overcoming the physical game Memphis likes to play. "We played their game in the fourth quarter and played it better than they did."
Analysis:
Everyone from the starters to David Stockton who signed a 10-day contract with Sacramento last week contributed to the Kings win over the Grizzlies.
Ben McLemore had 11 points in the first quarter on 5-9 shooting and played all 12 minutes. He finished the game with only 16 points but was able to get the Kings to a strong early start.
Stockton may not get any playing time but the rookie leads the way with encouragement. He's always up and cheering on his teammates during the game. There's something cool when you look at the Kings bench and see them totally into the game.
