Salmons Provides Clutch Scoring As Kings Crown Jazz 117-107

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Main

On any given night, it is usually Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Martin providing the heroics; however, Martin left the game in the late 3rd quarter with a groin injury. That’s when John Salmons picked up where Martin left off. Salmons scored 13 second-half points, leading the Kings to a victory over the Utah Jazz at Arco Arena Tuesday night.Both teams shot reasonably well – Sacramento shot 50% while Utah shot 47.2% from the floor. Utah held a 35-27 after one period, but after going four minutes without a field goal, Sacramento got a pair of dunks from forward-center Mikki Moore in the final minute of the first half, reducing Utah’s lead to 56-53 at the half. The Kings’ Martin made a jumper with 4:59 left in the third quarter, but Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer jumper at the buzzer gave the Jazz a 77-74 after 3.

Sacramento’s Ron Artest would make a layup to give Sacramento a 100-98 lead and Fernando Garcia’s 3-pointer made it 107-101 with 1:49 left in the game. Garcia would make another long-range jumper to make the Kings’ lead 113-105 with 19.5 seconds left, and the Kings would make additional free throws to put the game away for good.

Sacramento had 7 players in double-figures, led by Martin with 25 points; Artest added 23, with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Salmons provided 21, replacing Martin. Utah was led by Deron Williams with 30 points, with Carlos Boozer adding 19 and 11 rebounds. Brewer chipped in with 18, while Mehmet Okur contributed 17 in a losing effort. Sacramento (7-10) stays home to host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, while Utah (13-6) travels to Texas to take on the San Antonio Spurs, also on Friday.

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