Kings Drop 7th Straight, Lose to Jazz 99-94

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap

Boy I’ll tell you what – Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus must have the patience of Job as the Kings are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and did not have it any better as they hosted the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night at Arco Arena. The game marked the return of Kevin Martin, who recently recovered from a sprained left ankle; however, as has been the luck of the Kings as of late, they did not shoot very well despite 22 from Martin and the Jazz got key contributions from Deron Williams and Kyle Korver – especially late in the fourth quarter. The end result was pretty predictable as Utah squeezed past Sacramento 99-94; the Kings have lost seven straight and 10 of their past 11 games.

As usual, the Kings had a poor first half yet managed to only be behind by only 39-38 going into halftime; they picked up the pace a little in the early third quarter as they went on a 10-2 run to break a 52-all tie, capped by a Beno Udrih layup. In the period, Udrih scored 7 points while Martin scored 6 to help Sacramento take a 66-64 lead going into the final frame. Trailing by five points after the Kings’ Bobby Brown opened the final period with a 3-pointer, the Jazz went on a 13-2 tear to take a 77-71 lead with 7:16 left; however, Martin brought the Kings back by making back-to-back 3-pointers in cutting Utah’s lead to 79-77.

After Udrih scored to put the Kings ahead by one, Williams answered back with a pair of baskets, putting the Jazz up 93-90 and would hold on for the victory. Utah’s high scorer was Korver with 15 points, 4 rebounds and an assist while Ronnie Brewer and Williams scored 14 apiece – with Brewer grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists along with a steal while Williams grabbed a rebound, dished out 7 assists along with a blocked shot; Paul Millsap recorded a double-double, scoring 13 with 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Sacramento was led by Martin with 22 points (including 3 treys), 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while Brad Miller added 18 with 9 rebounds, an assist and 4 blocked shots; Udrih pitched in with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Utah (12-7) returns home to host the Miami Heat on Wednesday while Sacramento hopes to snap its lengthy losing streak when they take a rest and play again on Saturday when they host the Denver Nuggets.

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