The Sacramento Kings have had anything but a smooth start to the 2024-25 season, but they have greatly benefited from three early matchups against the Utah Jazz.
Thanks to a 141-97 win over the Jazz at Golden 1 Center on Sunday night, Sacramento improved to 3-0 against the Jazz this season while also winning back-to-back games for the first time in over a month (November 6-8th).
After putting together a complete effort during a 27-point blowout on Friday night in San Antonio, the Kings echoed that performance with another impressive showcase as they continue to work their way back to the .500 mark.
Sacramento (12-13) has benefited from the re-emergence of its three-point shooting, improving to 6-1 this season when shooting 40 percent or better from long distance.
Fox beats the clock 🦊 ⏰ pic.twitter.com/D8qdqAw04k
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 9, 2024
Kings vs. Jazz recap & takeaways
After acting as a sparkplug off the bench during Friday’s win in San Antonio, Kevin Huerter injected life into a sluggish Sacramento offense early.
Huerter scored eight points while converting two of the Kings’ three made triples during the first quarter. Three-point shooting has been an issue for Sacramento this season, and a three-for-12 (25%) opening quarter caused problems early as the Jazz took advantage of the Kings’ miscues.
Sacramento turned the page on a poor start to the game as play entered the quarter, opening the period on a 17-7 run behind Huerter’s red-hot start (four-of-seven from three-point range during the first half) to gain control of the game and push its lead into double-digits.
Huerter was the driving force behind the Kings’ big second quarter, one that saw the offense shoot 60 percent from the field and six-of-12 from three-point range with 11 assists (one turnover).
Three Sacramento players (Huerter, Malik Monk, and DeMar DeRozan) finished the first half in double-digits) and the Kings entered the break with a 62-45 advantage as they looked to coast to a second-straight win.
Huerter’s 4th triple off the second side Zoom action. K’Von is in the building, y’all. pic.twitter.com/TtIid1lbqP
— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) December 9, 2024
Things would only escalate from there for the Kings, as they went on to all but bury any hopes of a Utah comeback before fans could get back to their seats following the end of halftime.
Sacramento pushed its lead to 20, then 30 points before the end of the third quarter, with De’Aaron Fox’s buzzer-beating triple capping off a whopping 43-point period. The Kings went 18-for-29 (62%) from the field during the third, including three-of-six from downtown, as the Jazz struggled to contain an active offense that also handed out 30 assists before play entered the fourth quarter.
As was the case during Friday’s win in San Antonio, three-point shooting was key for Sacramento on Sunday night.
The Kings finished the night shooting 22-of-44 (50%) from beyond the arc, marking just the second time this season that they have shot over 40 percent from deep in consecutive games.
Huerter’s season-high 26-point performance on ten-of-14 shooting from the field and six-of-nine from deep led all Sacramento scorers, but bench forward Doug McDermott stole the show late.
McDermott, who has played sporadically this season, was called on in the fourth quarter with head coach Mike Brown having pulled his starters as the Kings held a 30-plus point lead.
Once McDermot entered the game, he let it fly. The sharpshooting veteran knocked down six of his seven attempts from three-point range, sending Golden 1 Center into a frenzy en route to scoring 18 points over just eight minutes of action.
Players to make 6+ three-pointers in a single quarter in Sacramento Kings franchise history:
Keegan Murray – 7 (2023)
Harrison Barnes – 6 (2021)
Omri Casspi – 6 (2015)
And now, Doug McDermott.pic.twitter.com/CO3dQ2YwPH
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) December 9, 2024
“If it feels like leather, shoot it,” McDermott said with a laugh during his on-floor post-game interview before lighting the beam for the first time in his Kings career.
McDermott’s impressive showcase put the finishing touches in another complete effort for Sacramento, one that head coach Mike Brown highlighted was also made possible thanks to all-around playmaking (season-high 39 assists) and swarming defense that forced Utah into 19 turnovers.
“I hope the story isn’t about making threes,” Brown said. “I hope the story is about how we played defensively.”
Three-point shooting has been one of the main stories of the season thus far, but after back-to-back 40-plus percent showings from deep, Brown is pointing to other areas of importance that can lead Sacramento into the W column.
The Kings scored 22 points off Utah’s 19 turnovers, held the Jazz to just 32 points in the paint, and won the battle of the boards 43-38.
Sacramento entered the night with the NBA’s second-best paint defense (43.4 points), and they did their part against a Utah offense that struggled to find consistency throughout Sunday’s game.
Back-to-back blowout wins have helped the Kings move one game back of the .500 mark, and while the bad vibes surrounding the poor start to the season have dissipated for the time being, Sacramento can’t ease off the gas.
The Kings will play just one game over the next week due to the NBA Cup knockout stage and final rounds set to tip off in Las Vegas, meaning Brown will have plenty of time to run his team through practice and film sessions.
Winning games with ease is fun for everybody, but Brown ended his post-game press conference with a parting note that he will be quickly turning the page on the past two games.
“Right now, where I’m sitting, it’s not time to have fun. It’s time to stack wins.”
Notes
Dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season, the Kings have won seven straight games against the Utah Jazz.
Domantas Sabonis finished the night with his NBA-leading 21st double-double: 19 PTS | 12 REB | 6 AST
Kevin Huerter scored 16+ points in back-to-back games for the first time since January 2024.
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
With the NBA Cup’s knockout stage set to begin next week, Sacramento will play just one game over the next seven days, providing Mike Brown’s group a chance to regroup and get some much-needed practice.
The Kings’ lone game this week will be against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center, the building that witnessed the end of Sacramento’s season in the Play-In Tournament just eight months ago.
New Orleans has been the Kings’ worst nightmare lately, going 6-0 against Sacramento last season.
Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Pelicans action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 5:00 PM PT from New Orleans.
Sacramento Kings 2024-25 Schedule
Thursday, December 12th – @ New Orleans Pelicans – 5:00 PM PT
Monday, December 16th – vs. Denver Nuggets – 7:00 PM PT
Thursday, December 19th – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 21st – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 3:00 PM PT
Sunday, December 22nd – vs. Indiana Pacers – 3:00 PM PT
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