Memphis Grizzlies (3-0) beat Sacramento Kings (0-3) 123-112 on the road on Sunday, October 25.
How it unfolded
The Grizzlies led by 8 at halftime and by 6 through three quarters, finishing with a 11-point win.
What decided it
The Grizzlies cashed in 25.3 free throws for every 100 shots, the Kings only 14.9 and the Grizzlies recovered 39.1% of their own misses against 30.8% for the Kings. Getting to the line gave them easy points when the shots were not falling.
The game played at about 101 possessions per team. The Grizzlies scored 121.4 points per 100 possessions and the Kings scored 110.6, a difference of 10.8.
The Grizzlies' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 32-19.
Who made the difference
Ty Jerome (MEM) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (28.1): 31 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast on 8-17 shooting. The team was +27 in the minutes Ty played.
For the Kings, Zach LaVine was the best of the rest at 27.8: 37 pts, 2 reb, 5 ast on 13-25 shooting.
Precious Achiuwa (12 pts, 10 reb, 0 ast), Domantas Sabonis (15 pts, 15 reb, 3 ast), and Cameron Boozer (16 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast) each recorded a double-double.
Game Score is a single number that weighs points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers. It is not an official stat, just a quick way to rank lines.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 36% for the Grizzlies.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Memphis Grizzlies lead 4-3.
The Grizzlies are now 3-0, and the Kings are 0-3. The Grizzlies last five before this game: L-L-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.