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Darius Acuff Jr. ties the NBA rookie record with nine threes and scores 38 in Memphis, the youngest player ever to make nine in a game
Darius Acuff Jr., 19, made 9 of 14 threes and scored a career-high 38, 19 of them in the second quarter, to tie the NBA rookie record, but the Kings lost 136-105 in Memphis to fall to 0-6.
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Darius Acuff Jr. made nine threes in Memphis on Saturday night, tying the NBA rookie record for a single game, and nobody his age had ever done it before. The 19-year-old Sacramento Kings point guard scored a career-high 38 points on 12-of-25 shooting, 9-of-14 from three and 5-of-5 at the line, with five rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.
It still was not close. The Memphis Grizzlies won 136-105 to move to 6-0 and match the best start in franchise history, and the Kings fell to 0-6. Acuff’s teammates made 2 of their 24 three-point attempts.
Acuff’s 38 points in Memphis, posted by the NBA on X.
The record and the age
Acuff is the fifth rookie with nine threes in a game, joining Dalton Knecht (Lakers, Nov. 19, 2024), Keyonte George (Jazz, Feb. 15, 2024), Yogi Ferrell (Mavericks, Feb. 3, 2017) and Rodrigue Beaubois (Mavericks, March 27, 2010). It is also a Kings rookie record.
At 19 years and 349 days, he is the youngest player in NBA history to make nine threes in a game, according to the league’s stats account. The previous youngest was Jaren Jackson Jr., at 20 years and 89 days.
It was his second straight 30-point game after his 34 points and 14 assists in New Orleans on Thursday, which makes him the youngest player in Kings franchise history with back-to-back 30-point games. The previous youngest was Oscar Robertson, at 21 years and 357 days, according to the league. Sacramento reporter Sean Cunningham noted that Acuff is only the ninth player in NBA history with 30 points in consecutive games before turning 20.
19 points in one quarter
Acuff scored 2 points in the first quarter on 1-of-4 shooting and went to the bench with Sacramento down 21-11. He came back early in the second quarter with the Kings down 33-23 and took over the half.
He scored 19 points in the second quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, 5-of-6 from three. His first three, off a Sabonis pass, came with 9:51 left, and he hit another 25-footer 25 seconds later. His last two threes, 21 seconds apart in the final two minutes, cut a 58-46 deficit to 58-52. He had 21 points at halftime, the most of anyone in the game, and Sacramento trailed 66-55.
Acuff’s late second-quarter threes, posted by the Kings on X.
Memphis pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Kings 42-25. Acuff kept shooting. With 7:33 left in the period he banked in a 25-footer while being fouled and made the free throw for a four-point play, then made his next two shots, both threes, over the following 2:15. He had 31 after three quarters, but Sacramento was down 108-80, and Cameron Boozer had 17 of his career-high 27 points in that quarter for Memphis.
Acuff’s step-back three, posted by the NBA on X.
His ninth three came off a Sabonis pass with 5:08 left and made it 119-97. He checked out for good with 3:48 to play and 38 points, two short of 40.
Six games in
Acuff is averaging 26.3 points and 6.3 assists through six games, the most of any rookie. The scoring has come with volume: he is shooting 39.6% from the field on 24 attempts a game.
The shooting from deep has turned quickly. He made 7 of 34 threes (20.6%) in his first four games, including 0-of-7 in his debut against the Clippers. In the last two, he is 12-of-25. Across those two games he has 72 points and 19 assists.
The rest of the Kings did not keep up. Domantas Sabonis had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists but took one shot in the first three quarters. De’Andre Hunter scored 19. Memphis’ bench outscored Sacramento’s 81-20, led by Isaiah Stewart with 24 on 8-of-9 shooting and GG Jackson with 21 on 5-of-5 from three.
Sacramento’s next chance at a first win is at Dallas on Monday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Tuesday Cairo time), against Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks. For the full game story, see our Grizzlies-Kings recap.
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