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Grizzlies 111, Kings 110
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Down 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Memphis Grizzlies rallied for a most improbable 111-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings on an almost impossible shot Thursday night at FedExForum.
Trailing by two points with 0.2 of a second showing on the clock, Grizzlies guard Vince Carter threw an overhead inbounds pass from the side of the court to under the basket, where Courtney Lee appeared to catch it before throwing it in for the winning basket.
The officials spent several minutes reviewing the play. The Kings’ bench believed that Ryan Hollins, who was guarding Carter, had tipped the pass.
But the play stood and Memphis improved its record to 8-1 and won its 18th straight regular-season home game.
Carter also figured into the offensive side of things, hitting three 3-pointers in the Grizzlies’ fourth-quarter comeback and finishing with 11 points.
Point guard Mike Conley led Memphis with 22 points and 11 assists. Center Marc Gasol had 20 points and seven rebounds, and power forward Zach Randolph finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Trailing 91-76 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies roared back to take a 109-108 lead with 10.7 seconds left on a 3-pointer from Conley. But Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (22 points, 12 rebounds) drove to the basket with 6.5 seconds left and drew a foul from Gasol. Cousins hit both free throws to give the Kings a 110-109 lead.
Forward Rudy Gay, who spent the first six-plus years of his career in Memphis, had 25 points and six rebounds. The Kings owned a 44-30 advantage on the boards and a 19-6 margin in fast-break points.
The Kings (5-4) led by as many as 26 points early in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies shot 50.6 percent (39 of 77) from the field for the game. Sacramento finished at 48.1 percent (37 of 77).
The Kings jumped out to a 33-8 lead in the first quarter and were up 62-46 at halftime.
NOTES: Kings F Rudy Gay played six-plus seasons in Memphis (2006-2013) and remains the Grizzlies’ career leader in minutes played (16,966) and field-goal attempts (7,289). Gay is still close to several former teammates. “He’s at the weddings, he still lives here in town,” Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. “He’s a great guy and I wish him nothing but the best. Except against us.” … The Grizzlies swept the season series with Sacramento in 2013-14 (3-0) and in 2012-13 (4-0). Overall, the Grizzlies had won 11 of the last 12 games with the Kings heading into Thursday night. … Memphis got a season-best 38 points from its bench in a win on Tuesday over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Grizzlies were the last team in the NBA to get a double-digit scoring game from a reserve player. G Beno Udrih scored 16 points against the Lakers and C Kosta Koufos scored 14.
