Jazz Fall To Kings In Battle Of Shorthanded Rosters

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz fell to the Sacramento Kings 121-113 with both teams missing key players on the roster.

The Jazz were without Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton, but were led by Walker Kessler who scored a career-high 31 points.

The Kings were without De’Aaron Fox but beat the Jazz thanks to 27 points from Kevin Huerter.

First Quarter

The Kings jumped out to an early 16-10 lead behind seven points and five rebounds from Domantas Sabonis in the opening six minutes of the game.

Sacramento connected on 5-17 three-point attempts, including 4-5 from Keegan Murray who scored 14 points to lead all scorers.

Johnny Juzang 🪣#TakeNotehttps://t.co/PoUs3OC7ed

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 26, 2023

Walker Kessler led the Jazz with seven points on 3-4 shooting.

After one the Jazz trailed the Kings 32-26.

Second Quarter

The Jazz opened the second quarter on a 16-5 run, taking a 42-37 lead, their biggest of the game.

Jarrell Brantley provided the Jazz with a major spark in the first half scoring 10 points on 4-4 shooting in his first stint on the floor.

.@utahjazz come back from 1⃣1⃣-down to take second quarter lead in Sacramento#TakeNotehttps://t.co/1SvRwLxqtw

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 26, 2023

Kessler added 12 points in the second quarter, upping his total to 19 points to lead all scorers.

The Jazz closed the half on a 7-0 run and led the Kings 61-56.

Third Quarter

The Kings stole the momentum early in the second half outscoring the Jazz. 24-10 to take an 80-71 lead.

Kessler set a new career-high upping his total to 25 points early in the third, though the Jazz struggled offensively around the rookie.

Career-high for The Sheriff 👮 as @utahjazz battle Sacramento#TakeNotehttps://t.co/eHAUZkwZVS

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 26, 2023

The Kings outscored the Jazz 35-17 shooting just 1-11 from three in the quarter.

The Jazz trailed the Kings 90-78 after the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Jazz kept the game behind strong play from Kessler after the center become the first rookie in franchise history to record 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game.

The Kings led by as much as 12 midway through the quarter, but the Jazz trimmed it to six behind a 20-point night from Ochai Agbaji.

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Ultimately, the Jazz didn’t have enough offense to close the game late in the fourth quarter.

The Jazz fell to the Kings 121-113.

Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.

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