By Clay Bailey | The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) – Dillon Brooks scored 21 points, Desmond Bane added 18 and the Memphis Grizzlies took advantage of a poor Sacramento shot to beat the Kings 128-101 on Sunday night.

Jaren Jackson Jr. added 17 points and nine rebounds, and Brandon Clarke had 15 points to help Memphis end a two-game losing streak.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 14 points but was 5 of 17 on the field, including eight of his nine on 3 points. Terence Davis had 13 points and De’Aaron Fox added 12 but was 4 of 12 on the field, all of whom were part of the Kings shooting 34% for the game – including 9 of 42 from outside the arc.

“We shot the ball in an excruciating way,” said Kings caretaker Alvin Gentry.

Memphis was playing his first game without scoring leader Ja Morant, who sprained his left knee on Friday night in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. This forced others to mark the burden of Memphis to take over. It was Bane and Brooks early on with an assist from the bench for the Grizzlies, who connected on 16 of his 21 shots in the first half.

“I think it was a perfect game to go back and see what we’ve done and what has been beneficial,” said reserve guard De’Anthony Melton, who has 14 points for Memphis. “It’s always a blessing that we had to move the ball and we all share and everyone is involved.”

For the first half, Sacramento only managed 35 percent shots and connected just five of 34 3-pointers. The 76-52 halftime lead was Memphis’ most points in a half this season.

“At the start of the game, the first half, the strain on a lot of these 3 was really good,” said Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins. “The urgency to defend the 3 point line was really good.”

Memphis kept up the pressure offensively in the second half. Jackson scored 11 points before the middle of the third as the Grizzlies’ shooting has remained above 57% at this point.

In the three quarters, the Kings only managed 32% on shots, were just 6 of 33 outside the arc and were trailing 106-74.

Gentry directly correlated with a bad shooting night affecting the defense, but said the Grizzlies ‘accuracy was a byproduct of the Kings’ stellar shooting.

“When you’re not shooting and teams are running out of misses, it takes more time to build up your defense and it takes more time to line up in transition,” said Gentry.

ADVICE

Kings: Sacramento played without forwards Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless and Richaun Holmes, all of whom suffered from various illnesses. … Sacramento is 2-2 under Gentry since taking over when Luke Walton was sacked last week.

Grizzlies: Tyus Jones started his first game of the season in place of Morant. Morant was on the bench for the game. … The previous halftime record was 74 points against the Rockets on November 15th. … Steven Adams had 12 rebounds.

MORANT UPDATE

The Grizzlies were relieved when tests on Morant showed only a sprained left knee. And while he was on crutches for practice Saturday, indications are that the damage was not significant, and his return is measured in weeks, not months. Jenkins said there was no set timeline. “He will be out for a few weeks, and each week we will have a better idea as things go,” Jenkins said. “We expect a full recovery, and it is nothing in the long term that we are concerned about.”

FAN EJECTION

A sidelined Memphis fan was kicked out of his seat in the second half at Gentry’s request. It was not clear what the man said. “I think you pay a ticket, you guys have the right to boo. You have the right to support your team, ”said Gentry. “But inappropriate things should never be what someone should say or have the opportunity to say in an NBA game without being taken out.” Asked about the context of the remarks, the Sacramento coach would not be precise. “It’s not something that I’m going to tolerate people telling my player, I know that, not without stepping in and asking for (the fan) to be taken out.”

FOLLOWING:

Kings: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Grizzlies: In Toronto Tuesday night.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Related