The Sacramento Kings center Richaun Holmes (22) gets a hand on the Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas (17) shot in the first half at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Sat Feb 13, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings came into their game on Sunday night licking their wounds. The Kings previous game they took on the Orlando Magic.

In Friday’s game, the Kings couldn’t really manage to contain the Magic. Nikola Vucevic ran all over the Kings defense by scoring 42 points. Ultimately, the absence of De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley proved too costly for the Kings to overcome losing 124-110.

On Sunday night, the Kings were set to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings and Grizzlies had to postpone their previous two game due to COVID-19 protocols. The game was set for 7 PM PST in Sacramento. The Kings were behind for much of the game but got some scoring but never could catch up and lost by 14 points as the Grizzlies come away with a 124-110 victory.

In the first half, the Kings struggled on both sides of the ball. In the first quarter, the Kings were our scored by the Grizzlies 30-22 as neither the offense of defense was able to get a player to do well on either side of the ball.

The second quarter was more of the same. The Grizzlies out scored the Kings again in the second 32-24. If the Kings were looking to win the game they would need to improve play on both ends of the court. The Kings entered halftime down 62-46.

In the second half, the Kings offense improved but the defense wasn’t able to get stops. The Grizzlies outscored the Kings in the third quarter 37-33 to really put the game out of reach for the Kings.

In the fourth, the Kings managed to outscore the Grizzlies for the first time in the game 31-25 but it wasn’t nearly enough. The Kings have looked poorly on the defense end the last few games and it will be crucial for them to get that side of the ball back on track in order to snap the now three game losing streak. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 23 points as Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points for the Grizzlies.

Up Next: The Kings will prepare to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night in Sacramento a 7:00pm