Conley misses game-tying 3 in return as Grizz finally drop a close one

The Memphis Grizzlies somehow went 7-2 in the absence of starting point guard Mike Conley, improbably running their record to 18-9 with the likes of Andrew Harrison and Toney Douglas manning the point.

Aside from a stunning shellacking of the Golden State Warriors, the Grizzlies worked their magic by continually scraping out close wins. They came into Friday night's game against the Sacramento Kings with a 10-0 record in games decided by five points or less, which is how you win twice as many games as you lose despite collectively outscoring your opponents by a grand total of three points.

With Conley returning from a vertebrae fracture well ahead of schedule on Friday, it stood to reason that the Grizzlies would keep rolling against a team headed in the opposite direction. Instead, the Kings became the first team this season to beat Memphis in a close game, prevailing 96-92 after Conley missed a potential game-tying three with four seconds to play.

Conley struggled to get his legs under him in his first game back, finishing with eight points and six assists, while shooting 2-of-7 from the field and 0-of-3 from deep in 29 minutes.