Tag: Utah Jazz

Jazz cruise to a victory over Warriors 122-108

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sfgate.com photo: The Utah Jazz Rudy Gobert takes a shot against the Golden State Warriors defense at Chase Center in San Francisco on Monday night

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The visiting Utah Jazz downed the Warriors 122-108 Monday night at the Chase Center. The Warriors’ All-Star forward, Draymond Green, returned to action after missing several games with an injured left index finger.

The Jazz, coached by Quinn Snyder, owned a record of 6-3 coming into the game. The Jazz revamped their roster as they added guard Michael Conley. Conley was an All-Star in Memphis for many years. Another addition to the roster was Bojan Bogdanovic, who came to Utah after playing for the Indiana Pacers last season.

The Jazz has other players that are All-Stars. Rudy Gobert, the seven-foot one-inch center, is back for another year. Donovan Mitchell continues to sparkle at the guard position, and he had a big night against the Warriors.

The Warriors and Jazz played a very competitive first quarter. The Jazz led early in the period. The W’s D’Angelo Russell knocked down three threes in a row to give the Warriors the lead 19-17. Utah came back and regained the lead briefly. The Warriors went ahead 24-23 on a D’Angelo Russell 2-point bucket. That would be the last time the Warriors had the lead. Russell finished the first period with 18 points.

Utah outscored the Warriors 35-24 in the second period to finish the first half with a 15-point lead 69-54. Utah knocked down 9 threes. The W’s had four. This was one of the reasons the Jazz led by 15. The other reason was the advantage the Jazz had at the free-throw line. Utah outscored the Warriors 16-2 from the charity stripe.

The Warriors outscored the Jazz 31-28 in the third quarter. Jordan Poole, D’Angelo Russell, Alec Burks, Damian Lee, and Eric Paschall all made contributions to help the Warriors win the quarter. They trailed 97-85 at the end of three-quarters of play.

The Warriors, as hard as they played, could not catch the Jazz. With 8:28 left to play, Draymond Green was charged with a double technical foul. Draymond appeared to be run over by a Utah player. He went to the floor but was charged with a reach-in foul. Green objected and was hit with a T.

He continued to question the call, and he was slapped with his second T. He had to leave. The Warriors could not catch the Jazz. They played well on defense, but they did not have enough firepower to get back into the game. The Jazz win 122-108

Game Notes: D’Angelo Russell led the Warrior attack with 33 points. Russell had 8 assists, and he made five threes in nine tries. The other Warriors in double figures were Jordan Poole with 11, Marquis Chriss 11, and Alec Burns 10. Willie Cauley-Stein, Glenn Robinson, Damian Lee, and Eric Paschall each had 8.

Utah had seven players in double figures. Rudy Gobert had a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell tallied 23, and he made 7 threes. Michael Conley tallied 22, and he knocked down six threes. Jeff Green and Bojan Bogdanovic each had 12. Joe Ingles and Emmanuel Mudiay had 11 each.

With the loss, the Warriors are now 2-9. Utah improved to 7-3. They are a power in the Western Conference and will be battling with the Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, and Denver for the best record in the West.

Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and the Warriors Eric Paschall have been best friends since they were six years old, growing up in Westchester County, New York. Hard to believe that two young men from the same neighborhood would be playing in the NBA. It’s a sweet story.

Up Next: The Warriors are back in action Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Chase Center. The game will be on ESPN at 7:00 pm. The Boston Celtics visit the Warriors on Friday.

Kings squeak out a 102-101 win over the Jazz

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Unfortunately for Kings fans, the Kings are the laughing stock of the NBA once again. With that said, the season is still young. However, the Kings need to turn things around quickly to salvage what has been a dismal season so far. Coming into Friday’s contest against the Utah Jazz, the Kings were 0-5 to start the 2019 season. The Kings looked to flip the script at 7 PM at Golden 1 Center.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out of the gate looking energized. They were moving the ball on offense and appeared to be in more of a rhythm than they had shown before. Halfway through the quarter, De’Aaron Fox had 7 points leading the Kings. At that point, the Kings started to put together some good offensive possessions to take the lead 21-11 with 3:58 remaining in the opening quarter. The last few minutes didn’t go as well for the Kings, but it wasn’t a meltdown. The Kings and Jazz finished the first quarter with the Kings leading 18-28.

In the second quarter, the Kings were able to keep pace. That was the most encouraging part of the half. The Kings didn’t hit shots as they did in the first but they did manage to hold the lead. The Jazz, on the other hand, started hitting some of the shots they missed in the first. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 14 in the first half, and the Jazz had a trio of players with 6 in the half. Leading the Kings through the first half was De’Aaron Fox with 15 points, Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica with 8 points, and Harrison Barnes with 7 points. Going into halftime, the Kings looked to hold onto their 48-51 lead.

The third quarter has been the Kings’ nemesis this season. They needed to turn that tide in order to get their first win of the year. The question remained could they do it. The Kings showed much better effort in the third than they had this season. However, some sloppy turnovers and missed opportunities prevented the Kings from building a lead. The third ended with the Kings taking a 81-80 point lead into the final quarter. This third quarter might not have been the greatest by most standards but it was leaps and bounds better than what the Kings had shown in the previous five contests.

As the Kings headed into the final minutes, the home crowd desperately wanted to erupt in a victory celebration. The Kings didn’t disappoint to start off the last quarter. Halfway through, the Kings had 95-88 lead. The only thing left for the Kings was to put the game away. The game would go back and forth in the final minutes with each team trading baskets. The game would ultimately come down to the last 17 seconds after the Kings were leading 100-99. The Jazz hit a layup and the Kings took the ball down the court after a loose ball foul for a putback of their own. The Jazz took their final time out with 2.9 seconds left and needed to hit a game-winner or else Sacramento would win. The Jazz inbounded to Donovan Mitchell and he was immediately shut down and missed with an airball. The Kings won 102-101.

The Kings managed to get their first win of the season on an all-around good performance. The Kings will look to carry that momentum into the next game and “Keep winning” according to Harrison Barnes’ postgame quotes.

The Kings head to New York City to take on the New York Knicks on Sunday, November 3 at 3:00 pm PST.

Warriors play well, beat the Pelicans 134-123; GSW beats up 0-4 team

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors won their first game of the new season as they routed the Pelicans 134-123. Head coach Steve Kerr made a couple of changes to the starting lineup. Kerr had Draymond Green start at the center position, and three guards, Jordan Poole, Steph Curry, and D’Angelo Russell, filled the other three slots. The changes worked as the Warriors led for the entire game.

The Warriors needed to get a win. They had been blown out in the first two games of the year by the LA Clippers and the OKC Thunder. Kerr had stated it would take a while for the team to come together. Many fans were beginning to think that the W’s were in for a tough season. While one game does not make a season, it shows that the reworked Warrior roster does have the talent to win games. People have to keep in mind that they won with two of their big men, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kevon Looney, unable to play.

Third-year player, Damion Lee, had the best night of his young career as he helped the W’s to the win. Lee had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He made four threes in six tries. Glenn Robinson III just missed a double-double with 12 points and 9 boards. Draymond Green had a triple-triple. Green was everywhere. His energy put a spark into the W’s offense. He recorded 16 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists. It was Green’s 23rd career triple-double.  When that happens, the Warriors are 23-0. Steph Curry led the club with 26 points, 3 boards, and 11 assists. D’Angelo Russell contributed 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall played well. Spellman had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Paschall had 8 points, 2 boards, and 3 assists.

The Warriors raced out to  27-23 lead after the first quarter of play. Jordan Poole knocked down three threes in the period. They scored the first 11 points to start the second quarter. The Warriors were running on offense and had a twenty-point lead 50-30 about halfway through the period. The Pelicans had a 9-0 run to make it 58-47. The W’s responded behind Green, Russell, Curry, and Lee to finish the first half leading 72-53. They scored 45 points in the period.

The Warriors continued to play well in the third period. Steph Curry committed his fourth foul of the game with 6:09 left to play. The Warriors were leading 84-64 at the time. Damion Lee and D’Angelo Russell did not let the Pelicans get back in the game. The W’s finished the third quarter with a 24-point lead 103-79.  It was more of the same in the last quarter. The Dubs led by 29 126-97 when the Pelicans went on a late 24-4 run to make it 132-123. Time was not on the Pelicans’ side when the clock ran out. The W’s win 134-123.

The Warriors are now 1-2 for the year. New Orleans remains winless at 0-4. The Warriors return home to face the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night at the Chase Center. The Suns are 2-1 for the season. They beat the LA Clippers last Saturday night. They are playing the Utah Jazz Monday night. They were leading in the third quarter. The game time will be played starting at 7:30 pm.

Winless Kings are blown out in Utah 113-81

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Jazz kings final
Graphic: @NBCBA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

“That was embarassing,” said Kings Head Coach Luke Walton after his team was blown out by the Utah Jazz 113-81 on Saturday night. Walton was not blaming just his players. He was blaming himself and his coaching staff as well. The poor performance the team has shown in its 0-3 start to the season has the entire organization on edge.

To say that no one saw this coming is a total understatement. The Kings were projected to be one of the teams fighting for the eighth playoff slot in the NBA Western Division. Right now, fans are asking when will the Kings win their first game of the season.

This game was over by halftime

The Kings trailed the Jazz 35-25 after the first 12 minutes were in the book. Then came the disastrous second period. Utah outscored Sacramento 31-16.

The Kings put in just 5 of 15 field goal attempts (33.3%) in the second quarter while the Jazz was shooting at 57.1% clip. Sacramento had no Fast Break Points in the first half. It was just ugly.

The teams went to the locker rooms with the Jazz leading the Kings 66-41.

Hey, it was the back end of a back-to-back

Yes, the Kings were playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road which means the odds were not in their favor. However, the Jazz (2-1) lost to the Lakers on the road on Friday night 95-86, so they were on the second game of a back-to-back as well.

Back-to-back games on the road are tough to win, but that is no excuse for the poor performance the Kings showed on Saturday night.

All Sacramento starters report to the bench

With 8:39 to go in the third quarter, Luke Walton pulled his starters off the floor. It was a coach waving the white flag. He took the opportunity to put in his reserves and get them some valuable playing time.

Utah top performers

  • Bojan Bogdanovic scored a game-high 26 points in just over 24 minutes on the floor. He hit 10 of 18 shots from the floor including five 3-pointers.
  • Donovan Mitchell added 15 points. He went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line.
  • Mike Conley and Georges Niang scored 12 points each.
  • As a team, the Jazz shot 56.4 % from the floor and 48.6% from downtown. They outrebounded the Kings 43-31.

Kings in the spotlight

  • Dewayne Dedmon led the Kings in scoring with 11 points. He also added six rebounds.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic put up 10 points and dished out two assists.
  • De’Aaron Fox scored nine points and distributed five dimes.
  • The Kings shot just 37% from the field.

Up next

The Kings will have Sunday off and will return to play on Monday night when they will host the 2-0 Denver Nuggets at the Golden 1 Center.

The Jazz will travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Monday evening.

 

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Improved Western Conference should be a challenge for Kings this season

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Photo credit: sactownroyalty.com

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 After dropping the first two preseason games in Mumbai the Kings found themselves last Thursday at Golden 1 Center in game three of their preseason with a 105-88 win over the Phoenix Suns.

#2 With an improved Western Conference, how challenging will it be for the Kings to make a charge in the standings?

#3 Luke Walton, the Kings head coach was pleased regarding the offense on Monday night against the Utah Jazz who moved on the Jazz 128-115.

#4 The Kings offense got some help from Buddy Hield led the Kings with 23 points in Utah Monday night will you be seeing Hield leading this season.

#5 The regular season is coming. How ready are the Kings?

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Fast And Furious: Kings run past the Jazz 128-115 in Salt Lake City

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photo from sacbee.com: Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) attempts to steal the ball from Utah Jazz guard Emmanuel Mudiay, left, in the first half of a preseason game Monday in Salt Lake City.

By Morris Phillips

The Sacramento Kings have won just 21 regular season games in Salt Lake City… in 34 seasons.

Not good, but an impressive 128-115 exhibition win Monday at Vivint Smart Arena has the Kings feeling less apprehensive about their second regular season road game October 26 at Utah.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 23 points, Marvin Bagley contributed 22 in 30 minutes of floor time. De’Aaron Fox departed early with a lower back injury.

The Kings played their fourth exhibition contest and both teams used the occasion to play their normal starters and top reserves. The Kings’ 78-point, first half came against defensive stalwarts Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. The Kings played their trademark, fast pace and backed that with 14 made 3-pointers.

Sacramento’s defense was far more effective than it was in India, where the Kings dropped a pair of exhibitions allowing 130 points each time last week  Against the Jazz, the Kings allowed 48 percent shooting from the field.

But they benefitted from 20 turnovers and Utah’s poor shooting from the distance where they missed 26 of 35 attempts. The Kings battled the Jazz to a standstill on the glass (55 rebounds each) and put six players in double figures in scoring.

The Kings played without Corey Joseph, Trevor Ariza and Harry Giles.

The Kings conclude pre-season on Wednesday against Melbourne United at the Golden 1 Center.

Sportstalk podcast from Il Fornaio Ristorante in downtown Sacramento on Monday, September 23, 2019

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Photo credit: ilfornaio.com

Cast: Charlie O Mallonee (host and Oakland A’s beat writer), Jeremiah Salmonson (Sacramento Kings reporter), Morris Phillips (Cal Bears reporter), Tony the Tiger Hayes (SF Giants columnist), London Marq (San Jose Earthquakes & Sac Kings reporter), Jeremy Harness (PGA Golf reporter), and Lee Leonard (Producer).

Podcasting from the wonderful and tasteful Il Fornaio Restorante at the Wells Fargo Center on 400 Capital Mall in downtown Sacramento. Our thanks to our host, General Manager Don McNerney, and the wonderful staff at Il Fornaio. You can cater your next event here at Il Fornaio in downtown Sacramento offering pickup and delivery catering services. Call (916) 446-4100 catering reservations within the next 24 hours. For banquets, Il Fornaio offers elegant and semi-private dining spaces with a wide range of specialized memos and services to match our authentic award winning Italian cuisine. For catering, call (916) 446-4139.

On the Sportstalk discussion, the Sacramento Kings’ Luke Walton is looking for Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield, who are both vying for minutes on the floor. Walton says both players compliment each other well. Hield had led the Kings with 20.7 points, five rebounds, 2.5 assists, and shot 42.7 from three-point land. Bogdanovic had offseason surgery last season missed the first 11 games of the Sacramento’s 12. Hield had 14.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds and shot 36 percent.

Vlad Divac, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, was noted for his flopping during his playing days and was a big man that helped the Kings during his playing days and later became the team’s general manager. Divac is hoping to bring the Kings to the postseason this year. Marvin Bagley averaged 7.6 points in 25.3 minutes and has pulled down 10.8 rebounds in 36 minutes. Bagley finished last assist percentage at 5.9.

Mumbai India will be the site of the Sacramento Kings’ preseason oasis. The Kings will open with the Indiana Pacers on Friday, October 4th and Saturday, October 5th, then on Thursday, October 10th vs. the Phoenix Suns, Monday, October 14th vs. the Utah Jazz, and in Melbourne, on Wednesday, October 16th, which closes their Mumbai road trip.

 

Warriors find a way to take down the red-hot Jazz 115-108

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The game between the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz Tuesday night at Oracle Arena had the feel of a playoff game. Both teams came into the contest red hot. The Jazz had were 12-3 entering the game, and the Warriors were 15-1. The Warriors, who started slowly against Phoenix and Miami, were determined to get off to a good start against the Jazz. Both teams struggled to put points on the board in the early going. Both squads played excellent defense until late in the quarter. The Warriors finished the first 12 minutes with a 25-14 advantage. With the score 11-5, Klay Thompson left the game with an injured left hand. He went to the locker room and came back with his middle finger and ring finger taped together. Thompson suffered a sprained ring finger and was able to continue.

The Jazz won the second quarter 30-22 to finish the first half trailing the W’s 47-44. The Jazz’ Jae Crowder, who tormented the Dubs, when he was with Boston, made two threes to keep Utah in the game. As mentioned above, both teams viewed the contest like a playoff game, and neither team could get much offense going. The Warriors made just four threes in twenty attempts. The Jazz was slightly better as they connected five times in eleven tries. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry led the W’s with eleven each. Klay had six, and Andre Iguodala helped out with two three-point buckets. Leading scorers for the Jazz were Rudy Gobert, Roye O’Neale, and Jae Crowder with 8 each. Donovan Mitchell had 7.

Utah, feeling the shift in momentum, took it to the Warriors in the third period. The Warriors did score 34 in the period, but Utah scored 40. They grabbed their first lead of the game since they started the game 2-0. They led 67-66. The W’s fought back, but Utah was able to build a five-point advantage 78-73. The Warriors trailed 79-78 after Durant made a basket and free throw. Utah didn’t wilt and finished the quarter leading 84-81. The Jazz upped the lead to seven 91-84. It was at this point that the Warriors went on a 22-6 run to go ahead 108-97. The Warriors, who were one for fifteen on threes to start the game, started to hit them. Draymond Green started the run with a basket. Andre Iguodala followed with a steal and a dunk. Klay hit a three. Later in the spurt, Steph Curry made two threes in a row. The Warriors were able to maintain the lead, and they won another thriller 115-108.

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the W’s are 16-1 in their last 17 games and are now 41-15 for the year. Utah drops down to 32-25.  The Jazz, coached by Quin Snyder, may be the team that no one wants to face in the playoffs.

Leading scorers for the W’s were Kevin Durant with 27, Steph 24, and Klay 22. Klay didn’t play as many minutes as usual and was fresh when he started the fourth quarter. He tallied eight points that helped the Dubs stay close. He passed Dale Ellis with his 1720th three-pointer.  Iguodala had 13 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, and made three 3s in 3 tries. DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Cousins, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green kept Rudy Gobert in check all night long. The big Frenchman finished with 13. Donovan Mitchell found his game in the second half and led the Jazz with 25. He made three threes in eight attempts. Ricky Rubio had 16. Joe Ingles finished with five. Stopping Ingles had been a problem for the Dubs as the Jazz had beaten them five times in the last 7 games. Ingles was not able to damage from beyond the three-point arc Tuesday night.

The Warriors travel to Portland to pay the Blazers Wednesday night. Game time is at 7:30 pm. This will be the last game for the Warriors before All-Star weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson will represent the Warriors.

Jazz send the Warriors down to defeat, 108-103

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors traveled to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Wednesday night. The Warriors knew they would have their work cut out for them if the Jazz would be able to play their style of game. The Jazz did that as they played a slow tempo, half-court game that featured them using as much of the 24-second clock before making a shot and, on defense, slowing down the Warriors’ fast-paced game.

The Jazz’ big man, Rudy Gobert, kept the Warriors from getting to the rim all night long. The Jazz hounded Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry. Curry, to his credit, was able to put points on the board as he led the team with 32 points. He made five three-point shots in nine attempts. Klay failed to make a three and Durant was made two threes in seven tries.  The Jazz hit 16 threes in 42 attempts. Kyle Korver made four, and Jae Crowder killed the Warriors as he made five treys to lead the Jazz to the win.

The game was close for three quarters. Utah won the first quarter 24-21. The Warriors made two threes in the first 12 minutes of play. Steph hit one, and Jonas Jerebko knocked down the other. The Warriors got the offense going in the second quarter as they outscored the Jazz 34-32 and trailed by one at the end of the first half 56-55. Curry led the Warriors with 21 and Durant added 12. Thompson was held to four. The Warriors’ bench added 8. Gobert led the Jazz with 11 points and 11 boards. Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder each had 9.

In the third quarter, the Jazz hit seven three-point shots. The Warriors defense shut down the Jazz near the basket, but they could not stop the outside shooting. Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder kept making three and the Warriors finished the third quarter trailing 84-80. The Warriors could not hit a bucket to start the fourth quarter. The Jazz increased the lead to 11, 98-87. The Warriors made a comeback at this point. They went on an 11-2 run to make it a 2-point game 100-98. The Jazz increased the lead to 106-100 with less than 1:50 left to play. Durant hit a three to make it 106-103 with 17 seconds left. The Warriors had the ball and had a chance to tie if they could make a three. They got the ball into Curry’s hands. Curry was going for a three when the ball was knocked out of his grip. The referees ruled it would be the Warriors’ ball with 2.8 seconds left. After a review of the play, the refs reversed the call, and the ball went over to the Jazz. The Warriors fouled Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell made both free throws and the game was over. The Jazz won 108-103.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss the Warriors drop to 21-11. The Jazz’ record is now 15-17 for the season and has won four straight while at home.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 32. Kevin Durant had 30. Klay Thompson finished with 12, and no other Warrior was in double figures. Draymond Green had 8 points and 12 rebounds. Kevon Looney had four. The Warriors’ bench tallied 17 points, and their output did not help the Warriors’ effort. The Jazz had six players in double figures. Joe Ingles led the jazz with 20. Gobert finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 blocked shots. Donovan Mitchell had 17, Jae Crowder 18. Korver 12, and Derrick Favors 12.

The stats showed how the Jazz stymied the Warriors’ offense. The Warriors recorded only 18 assists. This would indicate that they were not able to move the ball as well as they normally do. The Jazz had 30 for the night. The Jazz outrebounded the Warriors 52-48 The Warriors had 10 steals and 9 blocks on defense. The Jazz countered with 7 steals and 7 blocks. The Warriors committed 12 turnovers. The Jazz turned the ball over 16 times.

The loss was the first of the season for the Warriors when they held the opponent below 40% shooting.

Kevin Durant passed Gary Payton to move into 32nd place in scoring.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 5:30 pm.

Kings fall to Jazz 133-112 on Sunday night in SAC

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Jazz final score

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings faced a major uphill battle on Sunday night at the Golden 1 Center. They had played their butts off in Oakland on Saturday night only to lose to the Golden State Warriors 117-116 with less than one second remaining in the game.

The team then had to travel home and get ready for a 5 PM game on Sunday against the Utah Jazz. Let’s change that to the very angry Utah Jazz.

Sacramento had played the Jazz in Salt Lake City last Wednesday and embarrassed the Utah squad in front of their home fans by handing them a 119-110 loss. You must remember that the Jazz were a playoff team last season and to be beaten at home by a bunch of upstarts like the Kings is something that is not supposed to happen in the NBA.

The Jazz entered the contest with revenge on their minds.

Back-to-back games
NBA teams hate back-to-back games because they often spell disaster for them. The games on Saturday and Sunday were the Kings fifth back-to-back set of the season. They were 4-5 in those games coming in the contest with the Jazz. They had swept one series, split two series and been swept once.

The Kings needed to win on Sunday night to prevent being swept in a back-to-back series for the second time this season. They lost to the Jazz 133-112 and have now been swept twice in a back-to-back series.

Kings could not take advantage of a break
The Kings (10-10) knew before the start of the game that Utah’s star guard Donovan Mitchell would not be in uniform on Sunday. Mitchell who averages 20.6 points per game is usually the “heart and soul” of the Jazz offense. His absence did not guarantee the Kings a win, but it should have given them an advantage to exploit. They were unable to do so.

Coach Dave Joerger even warned the media before the game that Utah had a deep bench that was very capable of making up for Mitchell not being in the lineup. He was correct.

Things started well for SAC
The Kings jumped out to a 7-0 lead but things went downhill from there. Coach Dave Joerger did not mince words about what he saw from his team.

  • The Jazz outscored the Kings in the paint 66-52
  • Utah scored 17 second Chance Points to Sacramento’s 9
  • The Kings did win the battle of fastbreak points 13-12
  • The Jazz shot 53.3% (49/52) for the game while the Kings shot 47.1% (40/85)
  • UTA out-rebounded SAC 49-36
  • The Jazz dished out 30 assists while committing 19 turnovers (23 Kings points)
  • The Kings recorded 20 assists and turned it over 17 times (23 Utah points)

De’Aaron Fox on the loss to the Jazz

  • Kings high scorer was Bogdan Bogdanovic with 20 points in his first start of the season
  • De’Aaron Fox scored 13 points while dishing out 3 assists and adding 3 steals

  • Marvin Bagley III scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds
  • Harry Giles III put up 10 points, hauled in 8 rebounds and added 6 assists in just under 20 minutes of playing time

Utah Jazz leaders

Jazz Rubio

  • Ricky Rubio was the Jazz unlikely leading scorer. The point guard hardly ever shoots yet on Sunday he shot 11-for-16 from the floor and went 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc. He scored 27 points while distributing 5 assists and adding 7 rebounds.
  • Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. This was his 18th double-double of the season
  • Joe Ingles was quiet for much of the game and then suddenly had 18 points

Up next

  • The Jazz (9-11) will be back in action on Monday night when they host the Pacers in Salt Lake City
  • The Kings are off until Thursday night when they will welcome Clippers to the Golden 1 Center
  • The Jazz and Kings will meet one more time this season in SLC on April 5, 2019