National Basketball Association
Memphis 112, Sacramento 98
When: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 31, 2016
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #50 Gediminas Petraitis, #14 Ed Malloy
Attendance: 17608

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The close of the calendar year brought more of the same for the Memphis Grizzlies. The return of one key figure may have given way to the loss of another one.

It didn't stop them from grinding out one of their most lopsided victories of the season.

Mike Conley scored 22 points in his return from a two-game absence, and the Grizzlies overcame the absence of Marc Gasol for much for the second half with lights-out shooting in a 112-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center.

Memphis (22-14) canned a franchise-record 17 3-pointers, including 11 in the third quarter and kicked off a four-game California road trip with its second straight win. The Grizzlies were 7-for-8 from 3-point range during a 4:30 stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters and made six in a row at one point en route to a 22-point lead.

"When we're shooting like we were today, we're a very tough team," Conley said. "The ball was shared so much that guys got a lot of open looks."

They knocked them down with amazing proficiency. Memphis made 11 of 21 3-pointers in the decisive third quarter.

"They beat us in every part of the game," Kings guard Garrett Temple said.

Conley, who missed two straight games with a toe injury, played 29 minutes in his return and made 8 of 11 shots from the field to set the pace for Memphis' hot-shooting night. The Grizzlies shot 50.6 percent from the field and were 17 for 35 (48.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Green was 4 for 5 from long distance and scored 18 points. Zach Randolph scored 14 points off the bench, as did Vince Carter. Tony Allen and Troy Daniels each added 11 points for the Grizzlies.

The victory did come with a cost. Gasol left the game less than three minutes into the third quarter and was limping considerably as he walked with trainers through the tunnels of the arena after the game. Coach David Fizdale said Gasol suffered a sprained left ankle.

X-rays were negative and Gasol was listed as day-to-day.

Already this season, key Grizzlies Chandler Parsons (23 games), Conley (11), Deyonta Davis (nine), Vince Carter (six) and Tony Allen (five) have missed contests with injuries. Projected reserve forward Brandan Wright has missed all 36.

Still, Memphis is now 5-1 on the West Coast. They Grizzlies closed December with a 10-4 mark, setting the franchise mark for victories in the month, by holding Sacramento to just 43 percent shooting from the field.

"You know that makes me happy when I see us get after it like that," Fizdale said. "We were really connected, working with our voices. Guys were really backing each other up when there was a breakdown."

DeMarcus Cousins finished with 26 points, eight assists, five steals and four rebounds, but the Kings (14-19) dropped their second straight after a season-best four-game winning streak. Cousins also received his 10th technical foul, tying him with Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook for the most in the NBA.

Matt Barnes added a season-best 20 points and made five 3-pointers for Sacramento. Darren Collison scored 16 points, and Anthony Tolliver had 16 points off the bench for the Kings, who played their second straight game without Rudy Gay (hip flexor) and third straight without Arron Afflalo (strained elbow).

Sacramento also lost point guard Ty Lawson to a facial injury in the first half. Lawson took a shoulder to the face and underwent a precautionary CAT scan to rule out a fracture. Rookie Malachi Richardson played 10 minutes in the second half, his second-longest stint of the season, and contributed seven points.

"A disappointing game from our standpoint," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "It was not one of our better performances."

Memphis entered halftime with a 50-45 advantage, but Conley made two 3-pointers and scored eight points during a 14-4 blitz to start the second half, and Sacramento never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.

NOTES: F Rudy Gay has missed eight of Sacramento's last nine games, and the Kings are 4-4 without him. They also earned three of their victories in a season-high four-game winning streak with Gay sidelined. He aggravated a right hip injury against Philadelphia on Dec. 26. ... Grizzlies coach David Fizdale told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal he would "sneak in some kind of team-building exercise" during the team's week-long four-game trip to the West Coast. Memphis next travels to Los Angeles for back-to-back games against the Lakers and Clippers on Tuesday and Wednesday before closing the trek against the Golden State Warriors on Friday. ... The Kings have allowed at least 15 3-pointers in a game four times this season. ... The Grizzlies are on pace to set a team record for 3-pointers. They now have 317 and entered Saturday's game with 300, the earliest in any season by games that they've reached that mark.
Top Game Performances
 
Memphis   Sacramento
Mike Conley 22 Scoring DeMarcus Cousins 26
Andrew Harrison 6 Assists DeMarcus Cousins 8
Mike Conley 8 Rebounds Matt Barnes 8
Mike Conley 3 Free Throws Made DeMarcus Cousins 12
Jarell Martin 2 Steals DeMarcus Cousins 5
Vince Carter 1 Blocks Kosta Koufos 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Memphis 112 50.6 17-35 7-9 25 40 3 6 7
Sacramento 98 43.1 11-28 25-28 17 39 3 6 13
Upcoming Games
  • Sacramento will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Kings have a W/L % of .357 after a win and .474 after a loss.
  • Memphis will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .667 after a loss.