SACRAMENTO -- The fourth and final clash of the 2022-23 NBA regular season between the Kings and Memphis Grizzlies didn’t disappoint.
The Kings, featuring the NBA’s top-scoring offense, edged the Grizzlies -- the league’s top defense – 133-100 on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.
Monday's matchup was missing a bit of its star punch, as Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Steven Adams rested on the second night of a back-to-back. But the Kings had the building rocking early with a record-breaking first quarter.
The Grizzlies fought back in the second half to take a 73-71 lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but the Kings' bench conducted a couple of convincing runs in the third and fourth quarters to put the game out of hand in front of another boisterous crowd at Golden 1 Center.
The next time these two teams square off just might be somewhere in the Western Conference playoff bracket.
Here are three takeaways from the fourth and final clash between the Kings and Grizzlies:
Hot start
NBA
Sacramento made history to start the game.
The Kings nailed an incredible 12-of-13 3-point attempts in the first quarter to tie the NBA record for treys in a single quarter and set a franchise record.
Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray accounted for the Kings’ first 24 points of the game on a perfect 8-for-8 from downtown. Trey Lyles, Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk then came off the bench and combined to shoot 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to tie the NBA record.
The Kings didn’t miss a 3-point attempt until the 1:31 mark of the first quarter.
Sacramento led 47-33 after one quarter, the second-most points scored in an opening quarter in franchise history behind 49 dropped on the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020.
The Kings nailed 22 3-pointers, one short of the franchise record for a single game set just two weeks ago, Jan. 9 against the Orlando Magic.
Bench answers the call
While the record-breaking first quarter set the tone, Monk and Lyles finished off the Grizzlies.
It was Lyles and Monk going off in the third quarter that put the game out of hand. They threw down thunderous back-to-back dunks early in the fourth quarter that had Golden 1 Center rocking.
Lyles racked up a team-high 24 points, three blocks and two steals on 8-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes. Monk logged 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 5-of-9 shooting for the win.
The Kings' bench outscored the Grizzlies' reserves 57-25 in the victory.
Kee-gan Mur-ray
Murray put together a fantastic game, and it wasn’t just all from behind the arc.
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The rookie finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, one board shy of his third career double-double that would have been his third in the last five games.
Murray now has racked up double-digit points in nine of his last 10 games.