A game of runs. The Sacramento Kings fell behind early Friday evening in Memphis and recovered. They fell behind again in the second half, but kept charging.
In the end, the Kings couldn’t get the big shot to fall when they needed it and the Grizzlies did just enough to pull out the 112-104 victory.
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Here are three takeaways as the Kings stumble on the road in Memphis and fall to 8-7 on the season.
Quick on quick
The battle at the point guard position was fun to watch. There isn’t a player in the league that can stick with De’Aaron Fox stride for stride, but Mike Conley Jr. is close.
Fox finished the game with 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting and added 10 assists and four rebounds in the loss. He was a difference-maker on the court, like he has been all season long.
NBA
Conley knows how to run the show in Memphis. The veteran guard countered with a 19-point, six-assist performance as the Grizzlies came away with the win.
Buddy and Bogi
Fox is the ring leader, but Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic are crucial to the future of the Kings. The trio is still trying to get comfortable together after Bogdanovic missed the first 10 games with a knee issue.
Hield hit 6-of-12 from the field for 16 points in 27 minutes and Bogdanovic added 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
Both were on the bench late in the game when the Kings made a late charge, which won’t likely be the case on most nights.
Show them what they passed on
Sacramento had an opportunity to draft Jaren Jackson Jr. with the second overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, but chose Marvin Bagley III instead.
With JaMychal Green sidelined with an injury, the 19-year-old rookie is getting a major opportunity to shine early in his rookie season. Against Sacramento, he went to work early on and did major damage.
Jackson posted a career-high 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting and added six rebounds, four steals and two blocks. He’s active and the Kings struggled to contain him in the post.