Boracay Island, Philippines – The Utah Jazz bounced back from a painful overtime loss to New Orleans in their previous game with an excellent display of teamwork, as they dominated the Sacramento Kings from pillar to post 123-101 on Saturday night (Sunday morning, Philippine time) at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Four Jazz players scored at least 20, led by Bojan Bogdanovic’s 30 points on a 10-for-15 field goal shooting, including 6-for-9 from deep and connecting on all his 4 freethrow attempts. Rudy Gobert was also dominant on both ends with 28 markers, 15 boards, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
The French center was very efficient from the field, making 9 of his 11 shot attempts. He also shot 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. Jazz leading scorer Donovan Mitchell added 22 points, while Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points off the bench on an 8-for-13 field goal shooting, to go with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal for Utah, who improved to 29 wins and 13 losses.
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder couldn’t be happier with his wards’ unselfishness on the offensive end, with crisp pass after crisp pass until they find the best shot available, reminiscent of the “beautiful game” of the 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs that won it all.
Utah’s title hopes even got another big boost, as veteran guard Mike Conley returned from a left hamstring strain that sidelined him for all but one of their last 20 games. He finished with 3 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 15 minutes.
De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 21 points. Marvin Bagley III added 17 for the Kings, who dropped to a 15-27 win-loss card.
The Kings will be at Miami to face the Heat on Monday afternoon (Tuesday dawn, Philippine time).
Meanwhile, the Jazz, who are currently at 4th place in the Western Conference team standings, will host the Indiana Pacers on Monday night (Tuesday morning, Philippine time).
How they scored:
Jazz 123 – Bogdanovic 30, Gobert 28, Mitchell 22, Clarkson 20, Niang 10, Bradley 4, Conley 3, O’Neale 2, Ingles 2, Mudiay 2
Kings 101 – Fox 21, Bagley III 17, Hield 14, Bogdanovic 11, Bjelica 10, Barnes 9, Joseph 9, Ferrell 4, Dedmon 3, James 3
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
(Road Team – Home Team)
LAC 133 – 130 NOP
MIL 117 – 97 BKN
PHX 123 – 119 BOS
PHI 90 – 87 NYK
DET 136 – 103 ATL
TOR 122 – 112 MIN
CLE 116 – 118 CHI
ORL 95 – 109 GSW
LAL 124 – 115 HOU
POR 106 – 119 OKC
GAMES TODAY, JANUARY 20, 2020 CT
MIA @ SAS 4:00 AM CT
IND @ DEN 9:00 AM CT
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