SALT LAKE CITY – They couldn't handle another heartache.

That was the consensus around the Kings entering their game against Utah, as the sting of so many close losses recently left coaches and players alike agonizing over the pain felt by late-game backbreakers.

In that sense, their Salt Lake City stop was a success Friday night. In every other way, it was a failure of considerable proportions.

The Kings' 120-94 loss at EnergySolutions Arena was a new sort of unsightly for a team that has lost eight of its last nine games, reminiscent of their 0-4 season-opening trip in terms of ineptness and lack of effort. After fighting their way into a 50-50 tie at halftime, the Kings weren't all that different from the announced 19,911 in attendance during a terrible third quarter in which they were outscored 44-17. They stood mostly idle and watched the Jazz show, too.

The points scored were the most by any team in one quarter this season and the most Utah had scored in one period since dropping 46 second-quarter points on the Kings on Jan. 29, 1992. The Jazz hit 16 of 19 field goals (84.2 percent), with forward C.J. Miles hitting 5 of 6 shots for 16 of his 18 points. The Kings provided the contrast, hitting just 8 of 21 shots in the period (38.1 percent) and committing seven of their 18 turnovers.

"(The halftime tie) should make you go to the next level," Kings coach Reggie Theus said of the letdown. "That should give you a chance to say, 'Hey we're in this game and have a chance to win this game.' "

As Theus saw it, a lack of leadership played a part in the collapse.

"The one thing I would've like to see is one of our guys get really angry … about what was happening on the floor," he said. "Our team has a very good temperament, but somebody should've been angry about that. I see that as a leadership issue."

The Kings missed their first seven shots in the third, with center Brad Miller providing three of the first four misses while Miles hit a three and Mehmet Okur (20 points, 12 rebounds) hit back-to-back jumpers as the Jazz were off on a 13-0 run.

It only got worse, with the Jazz turning the Kings' many miscues into 16 fast-break points and a virtual dunk contest. Deron Williams orchestrated most of the mayhem, tallying nine of his 15 assists in the period.

None was more sensational than with 2:35 left in the third, when Miles took Williams' alley-oop pass off the backboard for an 85-63 lead that had the home crowd wanting more.

Bobby Jackson had very little to do with any of it, as the veteran guard played just two of his 12 minutes in the third. But upon hearing Theus' views on leadership, he strongly disagreed with his coach.

"Nobody should question our leadership," Jackson said. "You should question our effort when we step out on the court, but don't question our leadership. Our leadership is fine. … "

Kings swingman John Salmons, who had 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, also insisted that these problems don't stem from a lack of leadership.

"Losing like that, you should be angry at somebody, at something," he said. "But to me, talk is cheap. I don't really respond to the ra-ra. Prove it to me on the court. That's how I am."

The return of swingman Francisco García was supposed to help on the leadership front, but the fourth-year player had a hard enough time simply getting comfortable after his six-week absence with a strained right calf.

He hit 1 of 4 shots with had one rebound and two assists.

Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.