Kings start four-game road trip with a convincing 113-96 win in Utah

Oct 29, 2024, 8:16 PM

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 29: Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Sacramento Kings looks to pass aroun...

Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Sacramento Kings looks to pass around Keyonte George #3 of the Utah Jazz during the first half of a game at Delta Center on October 29, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Sactown Sports writer

On their first back-to-back of the 24-25 NBA season, the Sacramento Kings successfully went 2-0, bringing their record to 2-3. For a team that expects to be in the postseason conversation, it was an excellent chance to increase their win tally.

And they did just that. Utah never led by more than four points, with their final advantage disappearing at the 5:52 mark of the first quarter en route to a 113-96 Kings’ victory.

The Jazz were coming off a back-to-back of their own, having lost second-year forward Taylor Hendricks to an unfortunate right fibula fracture in their blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, the Kings had just defeated the Portland Trail Blazers by a reasonably comfortable margin.

Game four of Sacramento’s season signified the start of their first road trip—a four-game span that will take them to Atlanta, Toronto, and Miami in that confusing, inconvenient order.

The team’s availability for Tuesday night’s action in the Delta Center was as follows.

Injury Report:

Sacramento

Devin Carter (left shoulder)
Orlando Robinson (left MCL)
Mason Jones (G-League – two-way)
Isaiah Crawford (G-League – two-way)

Utah

Isaiah Collier (right hamstring)
Taylor Hendricks (right fibula)
Micah Potter (G-League – two-way)
Jason Preston (G-League – two-way)
Oscar Tshiebwe (G-League – two-way)

The Jazz, led by head coach Will Hardy, are known to play more defense than most teams in the league, and they didn’t waste time getting to it. Domantas Sabonis won the opening tip only to see Utah line up in the 2-3 zone. It didn’t carry over into the next position, but that defensive variety became a theme throughout the night.

To be blunt, the Jazz are expected to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, while Sacramento has aspirations for a playoff run—they should be able to take care of business.

Their night started with attention to detail. In the opening quarter, they managed five steals and nine offensive rebounds. Keon Ellis, who notoriously was a DNP-CD in game two, saw the floor early but quickly found himself in foul trouble.

Sacramento showcased their zone coverage, largely throwing off the young Jazz roster and converting their misses into transition looks on the other end. When defensive stalwart Walker Kessler checked out, De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, and the Kings attacked the paint with intention.

By the end of one, they had secured a 34-22 lead, but maintaining it would be essential. They did just that in the second frame.

Despite Kevin Huerter (2/4) and Keegan Murray (2/6) being the only Sacramento players to convert more than two triples in the half, their 30 points in the paint and 10 points off seven Utah turnovers allowed for an efficient offensive stretch.

Beautiful offensive possession from Sacramento that starts with a Fox spin move and ends with a Keegan floater. pic.twitter.com/YtWNchV3wL

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 30, 2024

DeRozan attacked mismatches within the offensive flow, going at Colin Sexton, Keyonte George, and Jordan Clarkson.

Heading into the third quarter, the Kings led 61-52, and the Jazz were without Lauri Markannen (low back spasms). In his place, rookie Kyle Filipowski started.

“Our second quarter hasn’t been the best lately,” Sabonis said on the postgame broadcast. “At halftime, we just make some adjustments, and everyone is locking in on them. In the third quarter, we just go out and hoop.” They sure did that Tuesday night.

Putting it simply, Sacramento looked like the better, more composed squad. They extended their nine-point halftime advantage to 24 by the end of the third, outscoring the opposition 29-14 during that stretch.

De’Aaron Fox inbounded the ball to himself off the back of Walker Kessler 😂 pic.twitter.com/4zZJCUwn7f

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 30, 2024

Coach Brown’s eight-man rotation included Fox, Huerter, DeRozan, Murray, Sabonis, Monk, Ellis, and Trey Lyles.

Lyles, who was drafted 12th overall by Utah in the 2015 NBA Draft, played the backup center in favor of Alex Len, enabling Sacramento to maintain a better offensive flow and spacing while their All-Star big man rested.

By then, Sabonis had already secured his third double-double in four games with a higher scoring total than usual. DeRozan notches his fourth straight game with 20 or more points with the final bucket before both benches cleared around the five-minute mark.

DeMar DeRozan puts this one away as both benches clear.

He now has four straight games of 20+ with Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/iPu8378kzX

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 30, 2024

According to Kings PR, only Chris Webber (seven games, 1999) and Oscar Robertson (six games, 1960) have had longer 20-point steaks to start their career with the franchise.

It was an expected win, but the Kings lost those games all too often last season, with blunders against Portland, Washington, and Charlotte, to name a few.

Sacramento will head to Atlanta tomorrow morning for their Friday night showdown with the Hawks and old friend Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Final Stats

Sacramento

Field Goal Percentage: 48/92 (52.2%)
Three-Point Percentage: 8/31 (29.2%)
Offensive Rebounds: 9
Points in the Paint: 58
Domantas Sabonis: 28 points, 11 rebounds, four assists on 13/18 FG
DeMar DeRozan: 20 points, eight assists, four rebounds, one steal, one block on 9/14 FG
De’Aaron Fox: 19 points, six assists, five rebounds, one steal on 8/15 FG

Utah