Jazz Beat Kings After Mitchell Scores 27, Gobert Leads Late Surge
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 20 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings 110-101 on Friday night.
Mike Conley added 17 points for the Jazz, who won their fifth straight against Sacramento in the first game at Golden 1 Center with a full crowd since March 8, 2020.
"They came out and swung and connected and connected but we continued to get up," Mitchell said. "Off night shooting, turnovers, not running our plays. We figured all that out during the game. It was on us to talk to each other."
Utah led by one going into the fourth quarter but went on runs of 10-0 and 6-0 before closing the game on a 15-6 burst.
The final spurt for the Jazz came after the Kings went to a smaller, quicker lineup.
"That's going to be a consistent thing we see," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "That was the stretch where we got stops. The story of the game was how we defended late."
Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Buddy Hield scored 24 points and went 6 of 15 from 3-point range, becoming the Kings' franchise leader in 3s.
"It's a four-point game with three minutes to go. That's nothing," Kings coach Luke Walton said. "Where we really got hurt tonight are all things we can correct. It was turnovers when we're on the fast break and a couple defensive miscues."
Gobert took only seven shots but came up big when it counted, scoring seven points over the final 3 1/2 minutes. He converted an alley-oop dunk, made two free throws and had a three-point play after getting fouled by Hield. Bojan Bogdanovic followed with a 3-pointer and waved to the crowd, Mitchell made a free throw and Conley sank a pair.
"Rudy took it upon himself to be stronger. It was night and day," Mitchell said. "Then also us around him, being able to run our offense."
The Jazz trailed most of the first half and were down late in the third quarter before Jordan Clarkson made a pair of 3s, including one with 0.2 seconds remaining to put the Jazz up 81-80.
Both teams got off to sluggish starts and the Kings trailed by six before going on a 15-0 run. Davion Mitchell capped that stretch when he grabbed the ball from Donovan Mitchell, then fed Terence Davis for a layup that made it 33-24.
INGLES EJECTED
Utah's Joe Ingles was ejected with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter after being charged with a flagrant-2 foul. Ingles was near the basket when Davion Mitchell missed a dunk attempt and crashed to the court. Ingles was initially whistled for a defensive foul but the call was changed after review.
"Obviously it's not something Joe did intentionally, meaning with any malice," Snyder said. "Those things happen."
RECORD BREAKER
Hield has 1,076 career 3-pointers. He came into the night tied with Peja Stojakovic atop the Kings' all-time list. "Peja's one of the all-time great shooters in our league. For Buddy to do it this quickly speaks to the type of shooter he is," Walton said.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Gobert and Snyder picked up technical fouls within a 98-second span in the third quarter. ... Rudy Gay (right heel) did not play.
Kings: Barnes, coming off a career-high 36 points against Portland, made his first two 3s and had eight points in the first quarter. ... Moe Harkless received treatment for his left hip injury before the game and was held out. ... Fox came out after appearing to injure his left shoulder early in the second quarter but returned.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host Denver on Tuesday.
Kings: Host the Warriors on Sunday night. Sacramento lost two of three against Golden State a year ago but won at Golden 1 Center, 141-119.