Kings Vs Grizzlies — Kings end 16-game skid as Westbrook scores 25 in Memphis
The Sacramento Kings entered Monday night’s kings vs grizzlies matchup looking to snap a 16-game losing streak and left with a win that stopped the franchise’s longest skid since moving to California’s capital.
Kings Vs Grizzlies at FedEx Forum
Tipoff had been set for 8 p. m. ET at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. The Grizzlies were listed as 3. 5-point favorites by DraftKings Sportsbook with an over/under of 232. 5 before the game. The Kings had entered the night 12-46, while the Grizzlies were 21-34 and third in the Southwest Division; Memphis was 11-15 at home and Sacramento 3-26 on the road. All-time, Sacramento led the series 59-53, though Memphis had won the last three meetings earlier in the season.
How the Kings snapped the streak and Westbrook’s night
Sacramento led for almost the entire night and pushed its lead as large as 13. Russell Westbrook finished as the game’s leading scorer with 25 points, two rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes. With the victory, the Kings improved to 13-46 on the season and held a two-game lead over the Indiana Pacers for the league’s worst record.
Pregame model, simulations and odds
The SportsLine Projection Model simulated the matchup 10, 000 times and the model went Under on the point total; it also indicated one side of the spread hit nearly 60% of the time. The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10, 000 times, had entered Week 17 on an 11-1 run on top-ranked over/under picks dating back to last year and was on a 20-11 run on top-rated CBB side picks. The presentation noted the model was on a 38-18 roll on top-rated NBA picks.
Franchise history: the losing streak and how it stacked up
Entering Monday’s contest, the Kings had lost 16 straight games dating back to January 18, 2026 — a new franchise record for Sacramento since the team moved to California’s capital. The previous longest losing streak in Sacramento history was 12 during the 1997-98 season. The previous longest losing streak in franchise history dated to the 1971-72 season, when the Cincinnati Royals lost 14 in a row. Sacramento had also been on a 16-game road losing streak dating back to December 6, 2025 prior to the win.
Who was available and what shifted in the game
Memphis played without eight key rotational players: Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Brandon Clarke, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Santi Aldama, Ty Jerome and Kyle Anderson. Sacramento capitalized, holding the lead for almost the entire night and finishing with the win that ended the long slump.
Standings impact and draft positioning
The victory moved Sacramento to 13-46 and left the Kings, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards jockeying to be a bottom-three team late in the season as each side positions for a 14 percent chance to land the number one overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Kings still face a difficult close to the season: they have the eighth-toughest strength of schedule remaining over the final month-and-a-half.
Unclear in the provided context what each team’s next scheduled game is; the available information does not list the teams’ upcoming matchups.
