Domantas, De’Aaron, DeMar and defense lead Kings past Jazz in Utah to start road trip
The Sacramento Kings are going through a transition on the defensive end. Assistant coach Luke Loucks has taken over the role of defensive coordinator following the departure of Jordi Fernandez, who was hired to become the Brooklyn Nets head coach.
The results on Tuesday were promising against the winless Utah Jazz as the Kings improved to 2-2, winning 113-96 at the Delta Center, to start their first multi-game road trip of the season.
It came on the back of a productive night from center Domantas Sabonis, a balanced scoring attack and Sacramento playing well defensively against the NBA’s worst offense through the season’s first week.
The Kings opened up a 24-point lead through three quarters while recording nine steals and seven blocks against the Jazz (0-4), who came into the game ranked 30th in offensive rating. Both teams were playing on the second night of a back-to-back. The Kings on Monday beat the Portland Trailblazers in Sacramento, while the Jazz traveled to play the Dallas Mavericks.
Sabonis finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists giving him three straight double-doubles. All five starters were in double figures by the start of the fourth quarter. De’Aaron Fox added 19 points and six assists while DeMar DeRozan and Keegan Murray scored 20 and 14, respectively. Kevin Huerter added 14.
DeRozan had at least 20 points for the fourth straight game to open his tenure with the Kings. Only Chris Webber (seven games in 1999) and Oscar Robertson (six in 1960) had longer streaks to begin their careers with the franchise.
“We’ve been playing extremely hard, even through mistakes,” DeRozan said. “(We’re) just trying to figure it out offensively and defensively. We still got a lot to clean up, but through it all, we’re going out there, just competing.”
The lopsided win came while the Kings struggled shooting from distance, going 8-of-31 (26%) from 3, their worst mark of the season. The Kings also got to the free throw line just 14 times Tuesday after shooting 25 Monday against Portland, when both teams combined to shoot 55 free throws.
“It was physical, but the refs decided to call it a bit different today,” Sabonis said. “And then the 3s (offensively), I didn’t even notice, because we always had a big lead.”
The Jazz came into the game ranked 27th in made 3s per game and 28th in percentage, which led to the Kings playing zone defense throughout the night. Utah finished 14 of 48 (29%) from 3. Star forward Lauri Markkanen left the game at halftime with low back spasms and scored just 7 points. Jordan Clarkson paced the Jazz with 21 points, and John Collins had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Tuesday marked the Kings’ first back-to-back of the season after going 6-9 on the back end of those scenarios in 2023-24. Sacramento will continue its four-game road trip Friday in Atlanta with another back-to-back Saturday in Toronto before finishing the trip next Monday in Miami.
Defensive work pays off
Kings coach Mike Brown said the team’s defensive principles haven’t changed dramatically with Loucks replacing Fernandez. But there are differences to the team’s zone defense which they relied on heavily throughout Tuesday’s matchup.
“When we’ve had a high number of deflections, we’ve been pretty good record-wise,” Brown said. “But I think the biggest change, or biggest differences that Luke has brought to the table is he’s really, really preaching our shifts, shifting the right way. He’s worked extremely hard with our guys on it, and it’s paid off. We can all feel it. We can all see it.”
Brown noted the Kings allowed just 38 points in the paint after allowing 48.9 per game last year.
Keon Ellis was named the defensive player of the game for the first time this season. He had two steals and three blocks, and was plus-15 in 17 minutes off the bench.
“He’s great at ball hunting,” DeRozan said of Ellis. “Anticipation defensively, is through the roof. His awareness. When you have a player like that, you know, it’s scary. And you see it. He knows where to be. He’s got great hands, great anticipation.”
Kings’ opponents having to face DeRozan? ‘Oh no’
Jazz coach Will Hardy was an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich during the three seasons DeRozan was there from 2018 to 2021. Hardy wasn’t thrilled when he found out his former player would be rejoining the Western Conference joining the Kings when the sign-and-trade with the Bulls was announced in July.
“I know for me, it was like, ‘oh no,’” Hardy said. “That’s a whole different thing to have to prepare for. Fox, Sabonis, the uptempo style was already enough of a problem to game plan for and prep your team for.”
DeRozan came into Tuesday’s game scoring 24 points per game on 52% shooting while averaging 9.3 free throw attempts. Through three games, the 16-year veteran helped Kings improve to fourth in the NBA in made free throws (24.3) after finishing 27th last season (15.5). The Kings ranked sixth in offensive efficiency with DeRozan as their leading scorer during their 1-2 start.
Kings players and Brown have acknowledged it’s taken work to incorporate DeRozan and his methodical style into their typically up-tempo offense. But Hardy believes the six-time All-Star will give the Kings a new look once DeRozan has more time to work with his new teammates.
“I think it’s a weapon for them,” Hardy said. “It’s like pitching in baseball, you can’t throw a fastball every pitch. I think having that change of pace with DeMar, a change in style, is going to be beneficial for them as they go throughout the season. That’s what it looks like to me. They’re obviously still figuring each other out, which is very much to be expected.”
Devin Carter injury update
Rookie guard Devin Carter is on the team’s four-game road trip and getting on-court work in while rehabbing from shoulder surgery over the summer.
Carter in July had a procedure to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, which the team said it knew about before taking Carter with the No. 13 pick. The team said the next update on progress is expected after the new year.
“The value is high,” Brown said of Carter traveling with the team. “It gives him an opportunity to see what we do on the road and get comfortable right away, (so) it’s not all new to him when he’s finally.
“Obviously I’m not watching it real closely because I’m trying to lock in on the guys that are playing and I don’t want to be distracted from that. But it’s always good to see him continue to take steps forward.”
Jazz dealing with emotion of Hendricks injury
The Jazz were a day removed from losing second-year forward Taylor Hendricks to serious ankle injury which required leaving the court on a stretcher in the third quarter of Monday’s road loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Hendricks, 20, was the ninth overall pick in the 2023 draft and entered the season as Hardy’s top defensive option for opponents’ scoring threats. He’s expected to miss the entire season after fracturing his right fibula and dislocating the ankle.
Hardy prior to Tuesday’s game discussed the emotional impact of losing Hendricks for himself and his players less than 24 hours since the injury.
“Playing a game tonight is good,” Hardy said. “I don’t think today being an off day would have helped anybody.”
As difficult as the injury appears to be for Utah, Brown came into the night thinking it could give the Jazz an emotional lift after starting the season 0-3.
“To have something as devastating as what occurred for these guys last night, your emotions are all over the place. And sometimes groups can use that as a rallying point and it can bleed into the next game and give them a little boost,” Brown said.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 8:37 PM.
