Kings Vs. Grizzlies: Rudy Gay Buzzes For 23, Memphis Crushes Sacramento

The Memphis Grizzlies bounced back well from a 40-point loss, and beat the Sacramento Kings 113-96 on Tuesday. Memphis got the win despite missing Zach Randolph and having Mike Conley only in limited minutes. Even without Randolph, Memphis scored 72 points in the paint, many of them by Rudy Gay (6-6 at the rim, per Hoopdata), Sam Young (5-5) and Tony Allen (5-10). Gay finished with 23, torching John Salmons with regularity.

DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench for the Kings after his weekend dust-up with Paul Westphal; he picked up eight rebounds (six offensive) in 22 minutes, but shot 1-5, all of those coming at the rim, several on putback attempts. The Kings' starting backcourt Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton combined to shoot 6-18 from the floor for 14 points. Salmons scored two on 1-4 shooting, and Cousins' replacement in the starting lineup J.J. Hickson went 3-10.

The Kings have shot better than 42.2 percent from the floor exactly once this season.

The Kings fall to 2-4. The Grizzlies stand at 2-3.

In other action:

Cavaliers 115, Bobcats 101: It's fair to say that Charlotte has lost its defensive identity. Cleveland hummed on offense, as Kyrie Irving led the team with 20 points on 8-10 shooting and six assists. Fellow rookie Tristan Thompson came off the bench to add 16. The Cavs had just nine turnovers in 99 possessions.

Jazz 85, Bucks 73: Holy defense, Batman. Drew Gooden shot 12-20 for the Bucks on his way to 24 points and 12 rebounds. The rest of Milwaukee's roster went 17-75 (22 percent) from the floor. That allowed the Jazz to survive despite coughing up 24 turnovers to Milwaukee's 14 and conceding 24 offensive rebounds to the Bucks.