Malik Monk's huge fourth quarter leads surging Sacramento Kings over Memphis Grizzlies

Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 4, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Malik Monk scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 138-133 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

DeMar DeRozan added 29 points for the Kings (16-19), who have won three in a row under interim coach Doug Christie.

Rookie Jaylen Wells, a Sacramento native and former Folsom High School star, scored a career-high 30 points for the Grizzlies (23-12).

The Kings will be back in action when they visit the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

Stat leaders

De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Trey Lyles had another good game off the bench, posting 16 points and six rebounds.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points for the Grizzlies. Desmond Bane had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Rookie debut

Rookie first-round draft pick Devin Carter made his NBA debut for the Kings after undergoing left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in July. He finished with five rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes.

Carter received a standing ovation when he checked in for the first time with 3:53 to play in the opening period. The moment was extra special with his father, former NBA player Anthony Carter, sitting on the visitor’s bench as an assistant coach with the Grizzlies.

Father and son spent a few minutes together before the game.

“Just what we usually talk about before every game, especially when we’re not on opposing sides,” Devin Carter said. “Just him telling me the same thing he’s told me my whole life, just go out there and play and have fun.”

Homecoming

Sacramento native and former Folsom High School star Jaylen Wells returned to his hometown for the first time as an NBA player.

Wells has emerged as one of the biggest steals in the draft after the Grizzlies selected him out of Washington State with the 39th overall pick. He has started 29 games in his rookie campaign, averaging 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins had high praise for Wells before the game.

“The biggest thing is just consistency,” Jenkins said. “I think his approach since Day 1 has been phenomenal. He’s a no-nonsense guy. He comes in and takes every learning opportunity with the most open approach, constantly learning from successful moments, mistakes, whatever it is. Never gets deflated or deterred. He’s a competitive dude. His personality may not scream it, but the way he goes about his work on and off the floor is pretty phenomenal for a rookie.”

Welcome to Sacramento

New Sacramento State football coach Brennan Marion sat courtside near Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. Marion received a warm welcome when he was introduced during a first-quarter timeout.

Sacramento State hired Marion on Dec. 20 to replace Andy Thompson, who left to join Troy Taylor’s coaching staff at Stanford. Marion spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator at UNLV.

Halftime report

The Kings led by 14 after putting up a 46-point first quarter and carried a 78-72 advantage into the halftime break.

Monk led all scorers with 17 points. Wells had 16.

Both teams shot better than 50% in the opening half. The Kings went 14 of 29 (.483) from 3-point range. The Grizzlies went 9 of 18 (.500).

Second-half summary

The Kings went up 87-72 after staging a 9-0 run to start the second half.

The Grizzlies came back to cut the deficit to two on a 3-pointer by Wells with 2:40 to play in the third quarter. The Kings led 102-100 at the start of the fourth.

The Grizzlies went up 110-109 after Fox was called for a flagrant 1 foul with 7:56 remaining.

The Kings reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by Monk and never trailed again.

Up next

The Kings will play the Golden State Warriors for the first time this season Sunday at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Warriors (17-16) will face the Kings on the second night of a back-to-back after playing host to the Grizzlies on Saturday.