Despite strong offensive night, turnovers doom the Sacramento Kings in a 120-105 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Kings never seemed to grab any momentum in the game, and trailed by as much as 20 points in the second half.
Sacramento had every opportunity to win this game, but could never muster enough on the defensive end to make it a competitive match. The Kings shot 53 percent from the field and drained 13 three pointers. A multitude of turnovers, however, stymied their strong shooting night. The Jazz made sure to capitalize on these mistakes and were also lights out from the field shooting 57 percent.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was the most consistent scorer for the Kings, and he had career highs in points (25) and three pointers made (six). He’s really come into his own lately and might be Sacramento’s best player.
Big man Willie Cauley-Stein was his usual productive self with 26 points and ten rebounds. This season Cauley-Stein has made the leap in his overall game that many feared he might be incapable of doing.
The Jazz got a huge night from rookie Donovan Mitchell, who dunked all over the Kings for 34 points. He shot 14/19 from the field and seemed to be able to score from everywhere. Coming off the bench, Rodney Hood also had a strong game with 25 points and eight rebounds.
This marks the second game into Sacramento’s “youth movement,” and it’s lost both games. Tonight was a better offensive showing, but the team lacks a sense of consistency.
George Hill had a strong night with 20 points and five assists, while Zach Randolph added 12 points. Sacramento is now tied for the worst record in the league at 13-31 and travel to Memphis to face off against the Grizzlies on Friday.
