Kings Outlast Jazz, 119-110
Nov 21, 2018, 9:50 PM | Updated: Nov 23, 2018, 10:05 am
Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) gets knocked to the floor on a drive to the hoop as the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings play at Vivint Smart Home arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. (Scott Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz came close, but ultimately fell short in a 119-110 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Down by 17 at one point in the first quarter, the Jazz came back to make a game of it. They cut the deficit to six at halftime with the Kings holding a 60-54 lead at the break. At the end of the third, the lead was just one as Sacramento held an 84-83 advantage. Then in the fourth, the Jazz took the lead on a couple occasions before it came down to crunch time.
Coming down to the wire, the Jazz made a game of it with some big plays by Donovan Mitchell. Down by 10 with two and a half minutes remaining, Mitchell made a spectacular layup, was fouled on the play and sunk the layup to cut the deficit to seven. He then made a three pointer to reduce the Kings’ lead to four. The teams traded baskets, but Nemanja Bejelica’s basket with the foul put the game out of reach for Utah.
AND the shimmy 🙈 pic.twitter.com/0PoBRHGwgb
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 22, 2018
Mitchell’s Big Game For Naught
The Jazz finished with five players in double figure scoring. Mitchell led the way with 35 points with four 3-pointers made. Jae Crowder came off the bench and added 16 points. Ricky Rubio and Rudy Gobert both had 13 points with Gobert adding 15 rebounds to complete the double-double. Joe Ingles also chipped in 12 points with seven assists.
DONOVAN FROM THE KID’S TABLE pic.twitter.com/l08ff79AdL
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 22, 2018
The Kings were led by Willie Cauley-Stein who finished with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting. De’Aaron Fox picked up a double-double with 17 points and 13 assists.
One Key Stat
Despite the presence of Gobert and Derrick Favors in the middle, the Kings outscored the Jazz with 58 points in the paint to just 42 by Utah.
Snyder Speaks
“We have to be able to defend better to win, most notably at the beginning of the game and the end of the game,” said head coach Quin Snyder. “It comes down to us being able to get stops.”
The Kings Await
The Jazz will again hit the road to face LeBron James and the Lakers Friday at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NBATV.
