By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Saturday night. The Kings played for the second time in as many days after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. The Kings lost on Friday by the final of 130-126 in an overtime affair.

De’Aaron Fox scored a franchise-record 60 points, which proved too few to win the game. The Kings (7-6) welcomed the Utah Jazz (3-8) on Saturday night. The Jazz were coming off a win at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

The Jazz discarded the Mavs 115-113. On Saturday, the Kings and Jazz tipped off at 7 p.m. PST in Sacramento. The Kings were short-handed on Saturday as they played without Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis, who were out with ankle, back, and back injuries, respectively. The Kings defeated the Utah Jazz 121-117 on Saturday night at Golden One and Fox led with 49 points in the win.

In the first quarter, Fox picked up where he left off the night before. Fox scored 18 points in the first quarter to propel the Kings to a slim early lead. Swipa was clearly on another planet, and Kings fans were here for it.

The Kings outscored the Jazz 35-31 in the first quarter. It was clear that the message of taking the open shots resonated with the team. The Kings needed to keep the energy up in the second quarter.

In the second, the Kings came out with good energy. However, they got sloppy late in the quarter. The Kings built up a 12-point lead in the quarter, only to see it evaporate into a one-point lead going into halftime.

The Kings went into halftime leading 64-63 after being outscored by the Jazz 32-29 in the second quarter. Fox led the way in the first half with 26 points. Keegan Murray was yet to get going in a game in which the Kings desperately needed him to score.

In the third quarter, the Kings lost their halftime advantage. The Jazz outscored the Kings in the third quarter 31-26 to lead the game 94-90 going into the fourth quarter. The Kings couldn’t get much going offensively except for Fox. Kevin Huerter and Murray had combined for 20 points in the game through three quarters. Someone other than Fox had to step up in the fourth if the Kings hoped to win the game.

In the fourth quarter, it was the Fox show once again. The Kings’ PG scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to push the Kings over the finish line. The Kings outscored the Jazz 31-23 in the final quarter to win the game 121-117.

Fox scored 49 points in the game with nine assists. Fox is only the third player in NBA history to score 109 points across a two-day span. The other players to do that are Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz in defeat with 25 points.

Reacting to Fox being the third player ever to score 109 points across two days, Mike said, “Wow … I can’t be more proud of him. It was just phenomenal to watch him do it—Wilt, Kobe, and Foxy.”

Up Next: The Sacramento Kings will stay home to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at Golden 1 Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST. Malik Monk will be out with an ankle injury. The availability of DeRozan and Sabonis remains up in the air.