Monk and rookies star in Kings’ preseason win over Jazz with key starters out of lineup
Two of Sacramento’s new additions got a chance to log extended minutes with three starters out of the lineup for Thursday’s preseason finale against the Utah Jazz.
Rookies Colby Jones and Sasha Vezenkov took advantage of the opportunity, helping the Kings earn their first preseason win with a 116-113 victory over the Jazz before an announced crowd of 15,726 at Golden 1 Center.
Malik Monk came off the bench to post 21 points and eight assists to lead the Kings (1-4). Jones scored 19 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute. Kessler Edwards had 14 points and eight rebounds while Vezenkov added 13 points and six rebounds.
Jones went 7 of 13 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Vezenkov went 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 8 from beyond the arc.
“Colby was really good,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Again, I’m loving how he’s making my job harder. I love it. Every time we throw him out there, he just keeps getting better and better and better.”
The Kings chose to rest the All-NBA duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Keegan Murray, an All-Rookie First Team selection last season, was ruled out due to illness. Chris Duarte (knee) and Trey Lyles (calf) were out with injuries. Utah countered by resting some of its best players, including Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins and Kelly Olynyk.
Sacramento started Davion Mitchell and Kevin Huerter in the backcourt with Harrison Barnes and Sasha Vezenkov at the forward spots and JaVale McGee at Center. Brown originally planned to play his regular starters against the Jazz, but he reconsidered after they logged heavy minutes in Wednesday’s 116-115 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Fox played 32 minutes. Sabonis played 34 minutes.
“Guys played extended minutes last night,” Brown said. “The game got competitive, so it was a lot of fun for our guys to be in that environment, especially against that team. So, because they played longer than I expected last night — the game was a little more physical than I expected, which was great — I decided to not risk anything and sit a couple guys, and we have a couple guys that can’t go.”
The Kings led 27-26 at the end of the first quarter and carried a 54-49 lead into the halftime break. Huerter made back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half after going 0 of 4 from the field to start the game. That seemed like a good sign for Sacramento after Huerter went 3 of 16 from 3-point range over the first four preseason games, but he finished 2 of 10 from the field and 2 of 6 from long distance.
Utah opened the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 56-54 lead. The Jazz went up by as many as 12 in the third quarter and led 85-79 going into the fourth.
The Kings came back to reclaim the lead on a 3-pointer from Monk early in the fourth quarter. The teams traded leads on a number of times over the final nine minutes before Edwards and Monk hit back-to-back 3s to put Sacramento up 109-104 with 1:50 remaining.
Sacramento proud
Brown was asked what he was most proud of after the Kings won 48 games to secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference last season, ending the longest playoff drought in league history after 16 consecutive losing seasons. Brown pointed to his team’s explosive offense, which led the league in scoring (120.7 ppg) and set a record for the highest offensive rating (119.4) in NBA history.
“I think having the No. 1 offense in the history of the game,” Brown said. “That’s no small feat, and all of our guys contributed, obviously, in some way, shape or form to have that. It’s even that much more special when you look at our team because a lot of guys wouldn’t place any of the guys who were on our team last year in the Top 50 all-time greatest or the all-time greatest scorers or anything like that. So, a bunch of guys who came together and got quote-unquote second chances, they found a way to connect, not just off the floor but on the floor, and that connectivity was something that propelled us to having the No. 1 offense.”
Republic FC shoutout
Brown started his pregame news conference with a shoutout to Sacramento Republic FC, which is going into the USL Championship playoffs as the No. 1 seed. The Republic will play host to New Mexico United in the Western Conference quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Heart Health Park.
“Everybody in Sacramento, I hope you go attend,” Brown said. “… They’re going to do some damage in this playoff run, so everybody that can make it, let’s go cheer them on loudly.”
Waiver wire
Jake Stephens and Dane Goodwin were in uniform Wednesday after signing Exhibit 10 contracts with the Kings earlier in the day. Following the game, a league source told The Sacramento Bee both players were being waived, but they were expected to transition immediately to the G League Stockton Kings. Guard Jaylen Nowell was also waived Wednesday, leaving the Kings with an open roster spot.
This story was originally published October 19, 2023 at 9:22 PM.
