DeMarcus Cousins and Oscar Robertson both had 20-10 double-doubles and the Sacramento Kings won their fifth straight game with an ultra-close 118-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The biggest lead of the game for either team was seven points, and the biggest lead in the fourth quarter was five points.
Both Cousins and Robertson scored 23 points for the Kings, who improved to 9-6 as they crossed the midway point of the gauntlet. Robertson had a season-high 11 assists, while Cousins grabbed 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the campaign.
Off the bench, Vlade Divac tied his season high with 13 points and Doug Christie had a season-high nine. The Kings were victorious despite having two starters foul out and Mitch Richmond scoring a season-low seven points, his first time not reaching double-figures.
The Grizzlies had three 20-point scorers, led by Desmond Bane’s 27, while Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 23 apiece.
The biggest lead of the game for either side came in the first quarter when Christie scored to put the Kings ahead 22-15. But it was tied at 26 at the end of the quarter.
Bane opened the second quarter with a basket, giving the Grizzlies their first lead of the contest. The Grizzlies took their biggest lead of the game at 39-34, and again at 52-47. The Kings ended the half on a 7-1 run and went into the break with a 54-53 lead.
The Kings led for most of the third quarter, and a Domantas Sabonis three-pointer made it a six-point game at 76-70. But the Grizzlies pulled within one point at 80-79 heading into the final period.
There were four lead changes in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. The last one came on a three-point play by Divac that put the Kings ahead 89-87 with a little more than eight minutes left. Nate Archibald put Sacramento ahead by five at 99-94 with six minutes to go. Memphis closed to within one point twice down the stretch, but the Kings held them off. At 112-111, Divac scored back-to-back baskets to help put the game out of reach.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 