MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With just eight players in uniform and suffering through a six-game losing streak, the Sacramento Kings had a lot to overcome.
So, to bring a feeling of unity, reserve guard Bobby Jackson dubbed them the Eight Amigos for a night.
The change in attitude helped as Kevin Martin scored 33 points, Jason Thompson had 17 points and nine rebounds and the Kings snapped their skid with a 115-106 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
“We just came out with that mentality,” said Kings center Spencer Hawes, who had 11 points. “We had to stick together, and everyone, I think, gave it 110 percent — not just for 24 minutes or 36 minutes, but for 48 minutes.”
The Kings were short-handed because of trades earlier this week that left new acquisitions in transit and not available for the game.
However, seven players reached double figures, including Beno Udrih with 18 points and six assists. Francisco Garcia scored 15 points, while Donte Greene matched Hawes’ 11 points. Jackson added 10.
“When things like that happen,” Jackson said of the lack of players, “you’ve got to stay together as a team and come out and fight. We did that.
“It was just to keep everyone on their toes,” Jackson added of the Eight Amigos line. “Keep them laughing and not thinking about eight players, but think about having each other’s backs.”
O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 24 points, and Rudy Gay had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Conley had 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Grizzlies, who shot just 38 percent in losing their fourth straight.
“It started early,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of the poor shooting. “It was a lack of energy and effort. It’s humbling.
“We see the Sacramento Kings 11-34, but we can never disrespect anybody. Not in our position.”
Sacramento built the lead to 11 with 3:17 left and had to sustain a late rally that brought the Grizzlies to 102-99 after Mayo stole the ball and scored on a dunk with 1:32 left.
But Garcia answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to put the game out of reach.
“Everybody spent so much energy in the third quarter, we were kind of taking a back seat trying to stay in the game,” Conley said.
There was plenty of sloppy play in this matchup of teams at the bottom of their respective divisions. Players fumbled passes, there were shot clock violations and turnovers that came fast enough that the racing up-and-down the floor was reminiscent of a tennis match.
Through the first 4 minutes of the second quarter, the teams combined for seven miscues.
“We made some mistakes, but they kept fighting,” Kings interim coach Kenny Natt said. “We told them to just keep playing forward. The guys did that, and we were able to pull the game out.”
The Memphis shooting woes were evident starting in the second quarter. Grizzlies starters were a combined 7-for-25 in the half, including Gay going 1-for-8 and Conley missing six of his seven shots.
The Grizzlies’ ragged play, poor shooting and 10 consecutive points for Sacramento allowed the Kings to erase an early Memphis advantage midway through the second, helping Sacramento take a 54-50 lead at the break. Martin led the way with 15 points in the half.
The Kings extended their lead at the start of the second half as Martin continued to score, and Memphis not only couldn’t shoot well, but became lackadaisical on defense in the early stages of the period. Martin, the league’s seventh-leading scorer at 24.2, already had reached his average late in the third quarter.
But the Grizzlies turned up the intensity enough to pull even, although Sacramento carried an 81-78 lead into the fourth.
“I thought (we) would play hard,” Natt said, “but I thought the Grizzlies would play a lot better than they did. That was my fear.”
And with new players coming in, and a lengthy losing streak behind them, the Kings are looking to maintain the new approach, and not quit down the stretch.
“That’s not the mentality we have. We’re a lot of hungry, competitive guys,” Hawes said. “(Coasting) hasn’t been our mindset. Even when we’ve been losing, we’ve been battling.
“We look at it as an opportunity, rather than like some other teams that just want to limp to the finish line.”
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