Colby Jones shines as Kings rout Jazz in NBA Summer League

Jul 15, 2024, 9:01 PM

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 31: Colby Jones #20 of the Sacramento King looks on in the fourth qu...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Wins and losses aren’t the most crucial aspect of the NBA Summer League–but for a Sacramento Kings team that dropped its Las Vegas opener by 20 points on Friday night, getting into the win column seemed to be high on the priority list during Monday’s action.

Sacramento (1-1) turned the jets on early and never looked back as Colby Jones and the Kings dominated the Utah Jazz on both ends of the floor en route to an 82-70 win at Cox Pavilion.

It was a wire-to-wire affair for Sacramento, who led by as many as 26 points and forced the Jazz into turning the ball over 26 times during a bounce-back effort in Las Vegas.

promises kept, promises delivered.

Colby Jones is up to 20 PTS on the night so far🔥 pic.twitter.com/HJ3GdVKcfy

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 16, 2024

Kings vs. Jazz: NBA Summer League Takeaways

Sacramento’s Las Vegas Summer League opener didn’t get off to an ideal start on Friday night against Memphis, as the Kings racked up more turnovers than made baskets during the opening period alone (ended the night with 31 turnovers).

Monday night was a different story.

The Summer Kings pushed the pace early against Utah, scoring 14 unanswered points before the Jazz finally got on the board following 4:12 of play. Sacramento turned the tables in this one, forcing eight turnovers during the first quarter en route to taking a 23-9 lead.

Thanks to solid play from the Kings’ defense, things would only escalate from there. Utah turned the ball over 19 times (no, that’s not a typo) during the first half, allowing Sacramento to score 14 fast-break points and set the tone early.

Colby Jones, the 34th pick from last year’s NBA Draft, shook off a rough start to Summer League play with a big first half. Jones scored 15 points (six-of-ten shooting) over 15 minutes, while Mason Jones did a bit of everything (eight points, five assists, and four steals) to put the Kings in front 48-25 at the break.

Colby Jones letting em’ know 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/aWhNVrK1IG

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) July 16, 2024

Sacramento’s defense never relented on Monday, holding the Jazz offense to four-of-21 (19%) shooting from three-point range. Turnovers loomed large for Utah in this one, as the Kings forced 26 turnovers over 40 minutes of play.

Jones was the storyline for Sacramento, leading all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field (four-of-12 from deep) to go along with six rebounds and three steals over 29 minutes. The Xavier product had averaged 8.3 points on 30/30/57 shooting splits during his first four Summer League games before breaking out against the Jazz.

Gonzaga product Drew Timme added 19 points (eight-of-12 from the field) and five boards during the win, while two-way guard Mason Jones just missed a double-double performance (13 points, nine assists, and four steals).

When is the next Sacramento Kings off-season date of interest?

The Kings’ Las Vegas Summer League slate continues on Wednesday afternoon with a matchup against the New York Knicks. Action is set to tip off at 12:30 PM PDT and will be broadcast on NBA TV.

Sactown Sports 1140 will have all of your Sacramento Kings coverage for the Las Vegas Summer League, free agency, and much more!