‘Don’t quit’: Kings storm back from 19-point deficit against Grizzlies
Here are three takeaways from the Kings’ 102-99 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Golden 1 Center:
The battle cry: ‘Don’t quit’
When the buzzer sounded to signal the end of an improbable comeback, Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein walked over to the scorer’s table, grabbed the microphone and explained how it happened.
“We just don’t quit,” he said. “We come in waves and we just don’t stop. That’s the battle cry. You don’t stop and you keep playing hard.”
The Kings (17-15) stormed back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies (16-16) in a game they trailed almost all night. Bogdan Bogdanovic made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, De’Aaron Fox sank two free throws to put Sacramento on top with 1:17 to play and the Kings held on to win after losing three of their previous four.
The contrast in styles between Sacramento and Memphis is striking and rather ironic considering Kings coach Dave Joerger’s role in shaping both systems. In three seasons as Memphis’ head coach, Joerger cultivated the slow, methodical, grit-and-grind philosophy the Grizzlies employ to this day. In his third season in Sacramento, Joerger has implemented a run-and-gun style that is the toast of the town.
Going into the game, the Kings were second in the NBA in pace and fourth in scoring, averaging 115.3 points per game. The Grizzlies were 30th in pace and 29th in scoring, averaging 101.9 points.
Memphis succeeded in making it a grit-and-grind game until the fourth quarter, when the Kings shot 57.9 percent from the field and knocked down 5 of 10 3-pointers after shooting 31.9 percent through three quarters.
“We didn’t shy away from how we play,” Cauley-Stein said. “A lot of teams, they go down 19, they start playing different. Guys missed shots in the first half, (and) made shots in the second half. ... We just keep coming in waves and we play how we want to play, and we’re getting wins from it.”
Back in the game
The Kings were closer to full strength with Iman Shumpert and Bogdanovic returning from injuries, but rookie big man Marvin Bagley III was still sidelined with a bone bruise in his left knee.
Shumpert missed three games with a hip contusion after taking a hard fall in a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 14. Bogdanovic was held out of Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma City because of a sore foot.
Bogdanovic scored 14 points. Shumpert had 11.
Bagley has missed four games since injuring his knee in the loss to Golden State. He was seen walking without his crutch at Friday’s morning shoot-around and is scheduled to be reevaluated next week.
Triple J
Memphis rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. continued to terrorize a Kings team that passed on him to take Bagley with the second pick in last summer’s NBA Draft, at least early in the contest.
Jackson, chosen by the Grizzlies at No. 4, had 12 points and six rebounds. He scored all 12 in the opening period to help Memphis race to a 10-point lead.
It wasn’t the first time Jackson had his way against Sacramento. In a 112-104 victory over the Kings on Nov. 16 in Memphis, Jackson repeatedly attacked Nemanja Bjelica in the opening minutes and went on to score a then-career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting. That performance influenced Joerger’s decision to start Kosta Koufos at power forward instead of Bjelica on Friday night.