Utah Jazz win second-straight with victory over the Sacramento Kings
The Utah Jazz (10-5) won their second-straight game with a 94-83 victory over the reeling Sacramento Kings (4-9) on Monday 22 November at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Jazz have now won eight of their past 11 games while the Kings have dropped eight of the past nine after opening the season 3-1.
The Jazz were led by C.J. Miles, who finished with 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 24 minutes off the bench while starting centre Al Jefferson had 19 points and eight rebounds.
Point guard Deron Williams shot only 4-for-14 from the field, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, and nine assists while Paul Millsap chipped in with 11 points and nine boards. Andrei Kirilenko had 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of play.
The Kings were also led by a bench player, with DeMarcus Cousins scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 29 minutes of play. Tyreke Evans went 3-for-12 from the field to finish
with 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists while Carl Landry finished with 12 points. Donte Greene scored 10 points while Samuel Dalembert went 0-for-4 from the field, finishing with two points and nine rebounds.
The Jazz got off to a bad start, shooting just 2-for-10 from the field in the first quarter. But even with the bad shooting, the Jazz were only down two points going into the second. Utah
built a lead in the second frame, thanks to 13 points from Miles, who hit five three-pointers in the fourth quarter in their last game, a win over the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday. With the Kings missing their last eight shots of the second quarter, the
Jazz took a 49-37 lead into the break.
In the final minutes of the third, Miles sparked another scoring burst for the Jazz, who finished the quarter on a 9-2 run to enter the final frame up 78-56. The Kings outscored the Jazz
27-16 in the final quarter but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
What they said
After making seven three-pointers in his last game, Miles read the defence and knew he’d have to contribute in other ways. He told reporters after the game that it was nice to play well
at home. "I knew they were going to be coming at me and I wasn't going to get off 10 3-point attempts tonight. So I tried to be active defensively and get out in transition. I figured
that'd be the easiest way for me to score. It was nice to do it at home."
Utah coach Jerry Sloan, who returned to the bench after missing two games to attend a funeral, praised the hard work of his second unit after the game. "I
thought our second group came in and gave us some life, and it seemed like they ran the floor much better."
Evans, the reigning Rookie of the Year, is frustrated with his play as of late. "For me, I need to pick up more offense, be more aggressive. C.J. came in and put a spark for them. He made
just about every shot he took."
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