Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) dunks against Utah Jazz forward Jarred Vanderbilt (8) during the second half at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Tue Jan 3, 2023 (AP News photo)
Fox & Company Win Thriller Over Utah 117-115
By Barbara Mason
After losing to the Grizzlies in Memphis Sunday, the Sacramento Kings (20-16) traveled to Utah to take on the Jazz (19-21) at Vivint Arena and just got by with a 117-115 win in Salt Lake City. The Jazz have now lost five games in a row and were looking to get back on track at home. They were aiming to level the score after losing to the Kings in late December by a single point 126-125.
Game recap: Sacramento got off to a solid start winning the first quarter 35-23. The Jazz started to heat up in the second, winning it 28-25 but still trailing at the half 60-51. The Kings finished the first half shooting at 50% while the Jazz were close to 41%. Sacramento had seven turnovers. The King’s Kevin Huerter had the high score in the first two quarters with 14 points and Domantas Sabonis, Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox all had double digits in the first half.
The Jazz only had two starters in double digits at the half. Jarred Vanderbilt had the high with 12 points and Lauri Markkanen had ten for Utah.
After leading by 12 points in the third quarter the Kings let the Jazz back into the game. Utah got to within two points 73-71 with 5:47 left in the third. The Jazz had challenged the Kings a number of times throughout the game but Sacramento roared back every time. Mounting turnovers and fouls started to hurt the Kings and gave Utah a real edge. With 35 seconds left on the clock the Jazz had tied up this game at 86. After three quarters, the Jazz had taken the lead 89-88.
This game would go to the team that was able to finish; it would go down to the wire. With 41.3 left in the game the Kings called a timeout. The score was 113-112 in favor of Sacramento. With 0.4 left in the game Fox made a driving layup giving the Kings the lead 117-115 which was the final.
Fox had a monster night with 37 points. Every starter on the roster had double digits in this collaborative effort. They were challenged over and over by the Jazz and fought to the very end of this intense game.
The Jazz’s high score was Lauri Markkanen with 28 points.
Wednesday night the Kings will take on the Atlanta Hawks back home at Golden One in downtown Sacramento. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
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