SACRAMENTO – Domantas Sabonis notched his 21st double-double in 25 games this season, and the Kings got a huge game out of Kevin Huerter off the bench as Sacramento rolled to a 141-97 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis, the NBA’s leader in double-doubles last season with 77, is back at it again. He had 19 points and 12 rebounds to go with six assists as Sacramento beat Utah for the third time in three games this season.
Huerter had the type of night that Kings fans have been hoping for since he was acquired in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks more than two years ago. He scored a season-high 26 points and made six 3-pointers, finishing a plus-35 in the win.
De’Aaron Fox had 21 points and nine assists, DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points and Malik Monk added 16 to help the Kings win their third in four games after dropping six of seven. Doug McDermott came off the bench and scored a season-high 18 points, all in the fourth quarter.
The Kings (12-13) led the entire way and were ahead by 44 at one point, a good springboard for what lies ahead.
Sacramento now heads into one of its toughest portions of the schedule – a four-game stretch against the New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers.
Huerter connected on four of his first five shots in the first quarter to get the Kings rolling. After getting stymied by the Jazz early, Sabonis and Sacramento found a good rhythm in the second quarter as the Kings took a 17-point lead into halftime.
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Sabonis stayed hot out of the break and had 12 points as the Kings poured in 40 points in the third quarter and pulled away.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s game:
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Red-hot Huerter bakes Jazz defense
Huerter came out sizzling and provided a big spark for the Kings’ offense, which had been fairly mediocre until he checked in.
With Sacramento struggling to get anything established in the paint, Huerter provided the perfect remedy with steady perimeter shooting. The veteran guard made four of his 3-pointers in the first half, matching his total against the Spurs two nights earlier.
⚠️ Red Velvet jam alert ⚠️
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 9, 2024
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Utah had to honor Huerter’s hot hand, which opened things up more in the middle for Sabonis and others.
Huerter flashed a little athleticism in the third quarter when he took a pass from Fox and made a resounding running one-handed dunk.
Domas goes outside to get inside game going
Sabonis had a lot of difficulty getting anything going in the paint early against Utah’s towers of 7-foot center Lauri Markkanen and 7-1 back-up Walker Kessler, who repeatedly denied the Kings when they tried to force the ball inside.
Sabonis changed up and moved out to the 3-point line where he set good screens and kept the ball moving. That pulled the Jazz big men out of the paint, freeing up Sacramento to drive a little easier.
Smooth ball movement and a three from Domas 🤌
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 9, 2024
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Sabonis made two 3-pointers and eventually got his inside game going, finishing 8 of 13 shooting.
Shutting it down behind the arc
The Kings’ 3-point defense was a stumbling block through the first six weeks of the 2023-24 season but over the past four games they’ve done a fantastic job of preventing opponents from feasting from the perimeter.
DeMar drops in the trey 👌
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 9, 2024
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Utah went 15 of 42 (35.7 percent) behind the arc. That came on the heels of the Kings holding down the Houston Rockets (35.9 percent), Memphis Grizzlies (34.2 percent) and San Antonio Spurs (34.1 percent) from the outside.
