Sacramento Kings Start Fast, Stumble In Opening Night Loss To Utah Jazz
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Donovan Mitchell scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz overcame an uneven performance on both ends of the floor to beat the Sacramento Kings 123-117 in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night.
Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Joe Ingles scored 22 and Derrick Favors added 18 points and nine boards as the Jazz won their sixth straight against the Kings.
Utah trailed by 16 early in the first quarter, blew a 14-point lead in the third and then pulled away in the fourth.
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Mitchell, runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting last season, struggled with his shot all night but came up big late. He made a pair of 3-pointers, scored on a driving layup and hit a key free throw with 1:46 remaining.
Mitchell shot 8 of 21 and went made only 3 of 10 on 3s.
Seven players scored in double figures for Utah.
Willie Cauley-Stein had 23 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento. De'Aaron Fox added 21 points and seven assists.
Marvin Bagley III, the second overall pick in this year's NBA draft, had six points and five rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench for the Kings.
Utah beat the Kings by 39 points in a preseason game less than a week earlier but got off to a sloppy start and fell behind 25-9 late in the first quarter.
Things turned around quickly for coach Quin Snyder's team.
The Jazz put up 59 points over the next 16 minutes, getting 17 from Ingles, who repeatedly scored from the perimeter after getting freed up on screens.
Ingles had 10 points in the second and Mitchell made a layup and 3-pointer to cap a 12-2 run that put the Jazz up 68-55 at halftime.
Utah led 71-57 early in the third before Sacramento went on an 18-2 run.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Jae Crowder picked up a technical foul in the third quarter when he shoved the ball into Nemanja Bjelica's chest after getting fouled. . Utah missed seven of its first nine shots and had five turnovers in the first 5½ minutes. . Mitchell was 3 of- 1 in the first half.
Kings: Frank Mason made a buzzer-beating 3 to end the first quarter. . Cauley-Stein was called for a technical when he said something to an official while walking off the court in the third.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
Kings: At the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.
