SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Rudy Gay scored 28 points, DeMarcus Cousins finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings grinded out a 102-90 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Cousins overcame foul trouble -- and a confrontation with Grizzlies big man Zach Randolph -- to lead Sacramento's 10-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter. Cousins added six assists in just 24 minutes before fouling out.
The Kings improved to 2-1 since George Karl took over as coach.
Randolph had 20 points and five rebounds, and Marc Gasol added 14 points and seven boards as Memphis' climb up the Western Conference standings was slowed. The Grizzlies had won 16 of 19 to get within striking distance of Golden State, which leads the West by four games.
It was a physical, testy, foul-filled 48 minutes -- the kind of game that usually suits Memphis' style.
Instead, Sacramento scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter -- with Cousins accounting for eight -- to take an 86-77 lead behind their own brute form of basketball. Cousins was called for his fifth foul with 6:56 remaining and went back to the bench, but the Kings kept things moving without him.
Gay hit three consecutive shots, including a 3-pointer, against his former team to rile up the home crowd. And Cousins came back with a rebound and a layup to put the Kings ahead 99-85 with 2:13 left.
The Kings opened a 12-point lead in the first quarter and kept the cushion for most of the game despite what they perceived as a series of bad calls and non-calls -- which both teams argued.
In the second quarter, Karl was whistled for a technical and Cousins quickly picked up his third foul, kicking a chair on the bench in frustration. That would get worse when Randolph banked in a shot from beyond halfcourt -- officially from 62 feet -- as the half ended, giving Memphis a little momentum heading to the locker room with Sacramento up 62-52.
Emotions escalated in the third quarter when Cousins and Randolph exchanged shoves and jawed at each other after Randolph made a layup. Randolph was called for a technical foul.
The next time down, Randolph earned a foul for elbowing Cousins in the face -- twice -- as he swung his arms with the ball. Cousins tapped his fist on his face while he strutted up court, apparently mocking Randolph's move.
On the following possession, Cousins charged into Gasol for his fourth foul and went to the bench. Meanwhile, Memphis held Sacramento scoreless for the first 4:39 of the third quarter and took a 77-76 lead into the fourth.
