SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Wayne Ellington scored a season-high 26 points, hitting six 3-pointers, to help the Memphis Grizzlies rout the Sacramento Kings 113-81 on Monday night.
Zach Randolph scored 17 points and had seven rebounds for Memphis. Mike Conley had 15 points and eight assists and Marc Gasol had 13 points for the Grizzlies, who outscored the Kings 36-20 in the third quarter to blow the game open.
John Salmons led the Kings with 17 points, Jason Thompson had 12 and DeMarcus Cousins had 10 and eight rebounds.
Tyreke Evans returned to the Kings after missing the previous 11 games with a sore left knee. He had five points in 12 minutes.
Besides playing well offensively, the Grizzlies did a nice job of containing Cousins. In the previous four games, Cousins had averaged 24.5 points and 15.2 rebounds.
The Grizzlies ran their offense with precision in the third quarter when they pulled away from the Kings. They used a pair of 10-0 runs in the period to build an 87-65 lead heading into the fourth.
Elllington came off the bench late in the third quarter and scored the last 10 points for Memphis, which made 13 of 20 shots (65 percent) in the period. Ellington, who played under three minutes in the third quarter, made consecutive 3-pointers and hit a jumper at the buzzer.
Randolph scored on a one-handed put-back, then made a long jumper with the shot clock running down to key a 10-0 run by Memphis in the third quarter. Conley's 3-pointer put the Grizzlies ahead 65-51 at the 7:15 mark.
Conley had 10 points, four assists and four rebounds in the opening half when the Grizzlies led 51-45. Gasol had nine points for Memphis, which connected on 13 of 14 free throws in the first half.
Salmons made three 3-pointers and scored 13 first-half points for the Kings. Thompson scored 10 points and Cousins had six.
Notes: Josh Selby was not with the team for personal reasons. . The Grizzlies complete the three-game road trip Wednesday at Golden State.
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