SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley is playing like an All-Star lately. Soon hell find out if he gets to be one. Conley had 27 points and 10 assists as the Grizzlies won their fourth straight by beating the slumping Sacramento Kings 99-89 on Wednesday night. One night after outplaying Portland guard Damian Lillard in the Grizzlies impressive 98-81 victory, Conley backed it up with an even better game against the Kings. Conley, who will find out Thursday if he will be picked as one the Western Conference reserves, made 8 of 14 shots, hit two threes, and had two steals. He scored nine points in the fourth quarter. "I wont let it bother me at all if I dont make it. Its something I cant control," Conley said. "If it happens, it happens. Im just playing ball right now. Im playing at a high level and doing what my team needs me to do to do. Im just playing to win." And the Grizzlies are doing plenty of that lately, winning for the ninth time in 10 games. They put their latest win away in the fourth quarter, getting six steals and converting several of them into easy layups. Memphis shot 11 of 18 and made 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter in pulling away from the Kings, who cut the lead to four points at the 5:20 mark. The Grizzlies had nine of their 24 assists in the fourth quarter. Conley got plenty of help at the offensive end with Zach Randolph scoring six points and Tayshaun Prince getting six, all in the final three minutes. "Our chemistry right now is as good as Ive ever seen it," Memphis coach David Joerger said. "Our confidence is high and were really trying to stay in the moment." Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points and Rudy Gay had 23 for the Kings, who have lost five straight and seven of eight. DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings leading scorer and rebounder, missed his fourth straight game with an ankle sprain. The Kings are hoping to have Cousins back for Fridays game in Dallas. Gay, a former Memphis player, had missed the previous three games with an Achilles strain. He made a turnaround jumper in the fourth quarter to surpass 10,000 career points. However, Gay was limping some in the fourth quarter and also after the game in the locker room. But he expected to play against Dallas. "I kind of tweaked my foot a little bit more. But it doesnt matter. I still feel that we could have won the game," Gay said. "I was a little rusty. Im not used to being out. Ive actually been hurt one time in my career that actually made me miss more than one game. "So it was a little tough on me. Its going to happen." Kings coach Michael Malone has been critical of his teams defence for much of the season and Wednesdays game was no different. "I told our team afterward that I am going to start playing guys who are willing to defend," Malone said. "And if are not ready to defend ... I can no longer be a hypocrite. Ive been a hypocrite the whole year. I got the job in June and I preached defence and thats what I believe in. Were one of the worst defensive teams in the league." Randolph had 18 points for the Grizzlies, who won their fifth straight road game and have a 12-7 record away from home. Marc Gasol had 12 points and Mike Miller scored 11. Its no coincidence the Grizzlies strong play has coincided with the return of Gasol, last years Defensive Player of the Year who missed 23 games with a sprained knee. A protector of the rim, creative passer and reliable scorer, Gasol has been instrumental in the Grizzlies 7-1 record since his return. In the past two-plus week, the Grizzlies have beaten Phoenix, Houston twice, and Oklahoma City. Memphis finishes its three-game road trip Friday night in Minnesota. "Ever since we got Marc back weve been playing better," Prince said. "You can see our confidence coming back. He helps us so much on defence. He has a real presence back there. When he was out we couldnt get stops regularly like we are now." After making a corner jumper, Prince stole the ball from Gay and converted with a driving layup to give Memphis a 92-85 lead. A basket by Conley and a layup by Prince increased the lead to nine. Randolph came up with a loose ball and fed Davis for a dunk at the other end, concluding an 11-4 run and putting Memphis up 82-71. But the Kings came back and cut the lead to three on Thomas 3-pointer at the 4:35 mark. Conley had 11 points in the third quarter when the Grizzlies outscored Sacramento 21-17 and took a 69-63 lead into the fourth. "I thought out defence was the key. There are very good offensive team that can score in bunches and has a lot of firepower, Conley said. "Were getting two, three, four stops in a row. Were not a high-octane team. But our defence is always consistent." Gay had a strong second quarter with 10 points and was difficult to stop in the third as well. He came up with a loose ball near midcourt and sprinted toward the basket for an emphatic dunk that brought the crowd to its feet and put the Kings ahead 61-59. Gasol scored eight points and the Grizzlies shot 52 per cent and led 48-46 lead at intermission. Both Gay and Thomas had 12 points for the Kings. NOTES: Conley moved past Gay for the all-time franchise record for games played (480). ... Kings public address announcer Scott Moak was sick and missed his first game behind the mic in 12 years. His replacement was Jamie Coffee, a longtime Sacramento radio DJ. ... Memphis reserve forward Miller scored seven points in a 61-second span late in the second quarter. Mike Bibby Jersey . - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte sees the commitment to the handoff and cant help but come away impressed. Dillon Brooks Grizzlies Jersey . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit. http://www.grizzliesbasketballpro.info/Kyle-Anderson-Grizzlies-Jersey/ . Next up, the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North. Baltimore Ravens In 2014, the 8-8 season that the Baltimore Ravens experienced was to be expected. Marc Gasol Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract with defensive lineman Israel Idonije and are bringing him back for a second stint. Jaren Jackson Jr. Jersey . -- Rodney Stuckey scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks for the first time in eight meetings, 92-86 on Tuesday night. PITTSBURGH -- Victor Cruz strolled into the end zone and thought for a moment about putting on his salsa dancing shoes. Two unenthusiastic steps later, he chucked the idea. "I didnt want to give it the full gamut," Cruz said. "Its the preseason." Besides, after missing organized team activities and minicamp during a contract dispute, the New York Giants wide receiver is a little rusty on the celebration thing. The catching touchdown passes from Eli Manning thing, however, remains just fine. Cruz pulled in a rainbow from the New York quarterback and ran by the Pittsburgh secondary for a 57-yard score in an 18-13 victory over the Steelers on Saturday night. Cruz lined up in the slot then sprinted past William Gay and Troy Polamalu as Manning lofted a perfect strike that seemed to put any lingering resentment over his holdout to rest. "You kind of feel like youre still in the swing of it, you still have your footing, you still have what it takes to be successful in this offence," Cruz said. "I think (Eli) read my body perfectly and put the ball where it needed to be. It felt good to be in midseason form so early on." Manning completed 2 of 5 passes for 73 yards but produced scores in both series he was on the field. "Good and bad," Manning said. "Hit a couple nice things. Sometimes that first game you just have to get back to getting used to knowing the defence can hit you now." Not that Pittsburghs starters came close on the games biggest play. Manning had plenty of time to find Cruz, taking only a small nudge from outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley after the ball was in flight. Playing behind a reconstituted offensive line, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wasnt quite so fortunate. He was sacked once and knocked down a couple of times during his two series of work. Roethlisberger completed 4 of 8 passes for 36 yards, leading the Steelers to a field goal on his second possession. "I thought we came out and ran the ball well," he said. "We want to establish an identity early of running the ball and I think we did a good job of that." LaRod Stephens-Howling, returning to the town where he was a star in college, russhed for 40 yards on seven carries for the Steelers.dddddddddddd Rookie running back LeVeon Bell -- Pittsburghs second-round pick in April -- did not play due to a sore left knee, though coach Mike Tomlin stressed it was only a precautionary measure. Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer, who are fighting Bell for the starting spot, didnt exactly separate themselves from the field. Redman ran twice for seven yards while Dwyer had 15 yards on six carries. Tomlins bigger concern were the wave of unusual mistakes in a game the felt like an extended scrimmage that happened to have over 50,000 people in attendance. Pittsburghs special teams gave up a blocked punt and a botched handoff in the end zone in the second half turned into a safety. The Steelers also committed seven penalties -- compared to just three for New York -- and generated little after Roethlisberger when to the sideline to trade his helmet for a baseball cap. "Just the Steelers beating the Steelers," Tomlin said. "Dont get me wrong, sometimes it can be characterized as part of August football but Im not buying that. I think we can set the bar higher than that for the first time out." Roethlisberger and offensive co-ordinator Todd Haley spent a portion of the off-season searching for middle ground after a somewhat bumpy 2012. Pittsburgh kept it conservative against the defence that finished a woeful 31st in the league last fall. Roethlisberger only went down the field once, but Antonio Brown was unable to keep his feet inbounds on what could have been a 20-yard touchdown pass. While Bell sat out, Pittsburgh first-round pick Jarvis Jones made a splash. The rookie linebacker and heir apparent to James Harrison recovered a fumble in his first game as a pro. New York, unlike Pittsburgh, has some definition on the depth chart at running back. The Giants gave the starting job to David Wilson when they let Ahmad Bradshaw leave in free agency. Wilson did little in two series of work, carrying five times for 16 yards. The Giants sat several regulars due to injury, including defensive stars Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. Rookie offensive tackle Justin Pugh also missed the game because of a concussion. ' ' '