Jazz-Kings Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Mar 21 2012 1:34PM

The Utah Jazz were at their lowest point of the season when they left Sacramento last month.

The Jazz could be back in the Western Conference playoff picture with a victory in this visit to California's capital, but knocking off the resurgent Kings could be a challenge.

Utah goes for a season high-tying fifth consecutive win Thursday night when the Kings try to close out the franchise's longest homestand with a fourth straight victory.

Arriving in Sacramento with just three victories in 13 games, the Jazz (24-22) dropped their season-high fourth in a row Feb. 28, losing 103-96 to fall a season-worst three games below .500.

Utah, though, is on a roll heading into this contest, with its last two victories coming over the West's elite. After winning 103-99 at the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the Jazz beat conference-leading Oklahoma City 97-90 at home Tuesday.

"It's all about confidence right now," said Al Jefferson, who had 16 points after missing the previous two games to attend his grandmother's funeral.

If Utah can match a 5-0 run from Jan. 2-10 and Houston loses to Golden State earlier Thursday, the Jazz will hold the eighth spot in the West. They were 2 1/2 games out of the conference's final playoff position following the Feb. 28 defeat.

"We should be very confident right now," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We're understanding that we need to count on each other, especially at the defensive end of the floor and depending on each other to make the right plays."

The Jazz are holding opponents to 96.5 points on 43.0 percent shooting during their current run, but slowing down the Kings (17-29) could be difficult.

Led by Marcus Thornton's 30.3 points per game, Sacramento is averaging 118.0 during its three-game winning streak.

More importantly, it appears the Kings are getting along as well as they have all season. Coach Keith Smart has a rule that any player out with an injury doesn't lose his spot, but Tyreke Evans - who was ready to return after missing two games with a sprained left ankle - requested prior to Tuesday's 119-110 win over Memphis that John Salmons stay in the starting lineup.

"They're starting to like each other," said Smart, whose team will try to win four straight at home for the first time since Nov. 25-Dec. 2, 2009. "And they're getting closer to that other 'L' word."

It's unclear if Evans will come off the bench again Thursday, but Smart will want to make sure to give him plenty of minutes. Evans had a season-high 31 points in a 96-93 loss in Salt Lake City on Jan. 28, and his 22.6 average versus Utah is his highest against any team.

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 points with 18 rebounds on Feb. 28 and is averaging 21.3 points and 13.7 boards in three home games against Utah.

The Jazz, who open a stretch of 11 of 17 outside Utah, have the second-fewest road wins (six) in the West, ahead of only Sacramento's four.

The Kings are trying to win two straight in this series for the first time since 2006-07.

Jazz edge Kings 103-102 on Jefferson's putback

Posted Mar 23 2012 2:15AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Devin Harris claimed he was trying to pass the ball to Utah teammate Al Jefferson, who was alone under the basket with time winding down.

Jefferson wasn't so sure but he wasn't going to argue, not after the Jazz extended their winning streak to five games to stay in the hunt for a possible playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Jefferson's basket with 0.9 seconds remaining lifted Utah to a 103-102 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night and helped the Jazz avoid what would have been a costly loss after they blew a 14-point second-half lead.

"I honestly thought it was a short shot," said Jefferson, who shot 13 for 19 from the floor. "I was at the basket by myself and that was the only way he could get it to me. It was a perfect pass."

The play was ruled a missed shot by Harris and a putback by Jefferson on the official score sheet.

Utah went almost 9 minutes without a basket in the fourth quarter and trailed 97-95 before making four of its five shots in the final 96 seconds.

Jefferson finished with 26 points and seven rebounds, Derrick Favors added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Gordon Hayward scored 18 points for Utah, which remained one-half game behind Houston for eighth place in the Western Conference.

The Jazz won despite the long scoring drought to begin the fourth quarter when they scored only eight points, six coming on free throws.

"We hung in there after (the Kings) came back and we didn't hang our heads low," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We are in a playoff hunt ... so this win was nice for us. We're fighting and scratching and doing whatever it takes to win."

Tyreke Evans scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings. Marcus Thornton added 22 points and 18 rebounds, but shot an airball on his 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Sacramento took the lead twice in the final 28 seconds but left Jefferson alone under the basket after Kings center DeMarcus Cousins left to try to block Harris from the right baseline.

"I caught myself coming over to try to make it a difficult shot for Harris, which put me out of position," said Cousins, who had earlier gotten into a brief staredown match with Harris after the two collided while chasing a loose ball. "So I have to take that loss."

Harris, whose 17-foot jumper earlier had given Utah a 99-97 lead with 1:06 to go, insisted after the game he was trying to pass the ball to Jefferson all along.

"A pass, of course," a grinning Harris said. "When I saw Cousins step up, I just tried to get it to Al any way I could."

Utah limped into the game without several key players. The Jazz lost forward Josh Howard to a possible season-ending knee injury earlier in the week and was also without reserves Earl Watson (sprained left ankle) and Raja Bell (strained right adductor).

It didn't seem to bother them much against Sacramento, which started off well but went through a big slump in the second and third quarters to fall behind.

Evans nearly rallied the Kings in his second game as reserve. He scored seven of Sacramento's first 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a behind-the-back layup that put the Kings up 96-95 with 3:11 left.

"We did everything we could to get ourselves back into this game," Sacramento coach Keith Smart said. "We were one defensive stop and one rebound from winning."

Thornton's free throw extended Sacramento's lead before Jefferson tied it at 97-all with a 17-foot jumper. Harris then put the Jazz up with his own 17-footer.

After Thornton's 3 put the Kings back on top, Alec Burks banked in a short off-balance jumper with 12.3 seconds left to give Utah the lead.

Thornton's driving layup with 4.1 seconds left gave Sacramento a 102-101 lead but the Kings failed to defend Jefferson at the other end.

Harris finished with 14 points and six assists for Utah while Paul Millsap had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Jefferson had 12 points in the first quarter and the Jazz closed the period on a 10-2 run to take a 30-26 lead. Jefferson also harassed Cousins defensively, forcing the Kings center into 2-of-10 shooting early.

Sacramento made only two shots over an 8-minute span before Evans provided a spark off the bench. Evans, who has been nursing a sprained left ankle, scored six straight points and Jimmer Fredette made a 3-pointer to pull the Kings within 42-35.

Evans made his first five shots and had 12 points in the first half but Utah still led 58-48 at the break.

The Jazz, who went into the night with only six road wins, led by 14 in the third quarter before Sacramento made its run in the fourth.

NOTES: Kings G/F Terrence Williams, who signed a 10-day contract on Wednesday, was not in uniform. ... Smart and Sacramento F Jason Thompson were both charged with technical fouls, Smart's coming in the fourth quarter. ... Thompson is day-to-day after suffering a strained left ankle in the final 15 seconds of the game.

Notebook: Jazz 103, Kings 102

Posted Friday March 23, 2012 1:20AM

By James Ham, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: There was a dog-fight in Sacramento tonight, as two teams trying to preserve winning streaks went toe-to-toe. The game came down to the final seconds, as the Utah Jazz pinned a heartbreaking 103-102 loss on the Kings.

Al Jefferson hurt the Kings early and often, finishing with a game high 26. The veteran center scored the winning basket off a tip-in with .9 seconds left. Gordon Hayward finished with a big 18 points for the Jazz, who have now won five in a row.

Tyreke Evans was a game changer off the bench, finishing with 25 points to lead the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson each finished with big-time double-doubles, but it was Marcus Thornton and his late game heroics that kept the Kings alive in this one. Thornton gave the Kings the lead twice in the final seconds with big shots, but missed a 27-footer at the buzzer for the win.

QUOTABLE: "It was just great to get the win, man, and to get anyway we have to. Once again, we blew a big lead in the fourth, but normally we would have put our head down and gave up, but we didn't. We kept fighting and the basketball gods were on our side"
-- Jefferson on the last-second win over the Kings

THE STAT: The Kings absolutely pounded the Jazz on the offensive glass tonight, finishing with 26 offensive rebounds.

TURNING POINT: This game wasn't over until the final second ticked off the clock. Jefferson's tip is both the game winner and turning point in this one.

QUOTABLE II: "I don't know what his issue is, but I can definitely solve it."
--Cousins on Devin Harris, after the two nearly had an altercation during the first quarter

HOT: Evans had an incredible first half, scoring 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting. The Jazz tried a few different looks, but Evans sliced through their defense like a hot knife through butter. He continued the efficient night, leading the Kings 25 points.

HOT II: Jefferson was incredibly tough all night. The veteran forward scored 26 points on 13-for-19 shooting, including the game-winning tip.

GOOD MOVE: Paul Millsap is a quality player, but the Kings were just too big for the undersized forward. Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin turned to Derrick Favors and he changed the whole complexity of this game with his defense. The second-year big man out of Georgia Tech scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots in 22 minutes.

BAD MOVE: Players have to rest, but Thompson was too good to take off the floor tonight. When Kings coach Keith Smart went away from his starting power forward, the Kings struggled and fell behind.

NOTABLE: The Kings starting frontcourt of Cousins and Thompson both finished with double-doubles, combining for 41 points and 33 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Friday vs. Denver, Sunday @ Atlanta, Monday @ New Jersey. For the Kings, Saturday @ Golden State, Monday @ Houston, Wednesday vs. San Antonio.

• Jazz: Howard
• Kings: Williams, Williams

• Jazz: --
• Kings: Smart, Thompson

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #12 Violet Palmer, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 11646
• Duration: 2:13