The Sacramento Kings and the visiting Utah Jazz will both be looking for their second straight win when they play each other on Sunday.
The Kings have won two of their last three games, including a 140-113 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. Domantas Sabonis played a key role in the win, scoring 22 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Demar DeRozan also contributed 23 points. Sacramento had a 10-point lead at halftime and outscored the Spurs by 17 points in the second half to seal the win.
“Two out of our last three games, we’ve done a great job sharing the basketball,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “We had 33 assists on 51 made field goals. I thought our sprays were really, really good tonight to the guys along the three-point line. We touched the paint, we got it out.”
“I like the looks (we’ve gotten). The one thing that we have to continue trying to do is when we touch the paint, when there are shooters that are open, we have to trust our teammates and spray the basketball. When we do, it’s usually good results.”
De’Aaron Fox is leading the team with an average of 26.6 points, which is eighth in the NBA before Saturday’s games, shooting 48.7 percent from the field.
DeRozan is scoring 22.7 points per game, and Sabonis is adding 20.9 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. The Kings are also getting 16.3 points from sixth man Malik Monk and 12.4 points from Keegan Murray.
The Jazz, who had lost nine of their last 10 games, ended a five-game losing streak on Friday with a 141-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Nine players scored in double figures for Utah, with Johnny Juzang leading the way with 22 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting. John Collins also scored 20 points for the Jazz, who shot a season-high 55.2 percent from the floor in the big win.
“There’s a lot to be learned from a game like this in terms of the connectivity of the group,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “That when we really do trust each other and the concepts, that everybody can be involved in the game, I think there’s a lot of guys tonight that will get on the bus feeling pretty good about themselves and how they played tonight.”
The Jazz have five players averaging at least 15 points per game. Lauri Markannen is scoring 19.2 points, Collins is averaging 17.9 points, Colin Sexton is contributing 16.9 points, Keyonte George is adding 15.5 points, and Jordan Clarkson is scoring 15 points. Walker Kessler is also contributing 11.1 points, leads the team with 10.9 rebounds, and averages 2.8 blocks.
