The Sacramento Kings travel to take on the Utah Jazz in this Western Conference battle at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Back January 3, Sacramento has won the first two meetings between these teams, including a 117-115 meeting when these teams met in Salt Lake City.
Kings vs. Jazz injuries: 3 Questionable, 2 Out
If history is any indication, Monday night’s matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings in Salt Lake City should be a great NBA game.
Two thrilling games were played between the teams almost three months ago, when they met twice in the span of four days. These teams have provided two of the best stories in the league this season.
Sacramento and Utah, intriguingly, will meet twice in five days this week.
The first two games were decided by a combined three points, both won by Sacramento. On December 30, at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center, Kevin Huerter hit a 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining to lift the Kings to a 126-125 victory.
De’Aaron Fox became a hero four nights later. He scored 22 of his team’s 37 points in the fourth quarter, helping them to a 117-115 victory over Utah on a late driving layup. Lauri Markannen’s dramatic buzzer-beating shot was initially ruled good but was later overturned after being replayed.
With only 12 games left for each team, these two games are important for the Kings (43-27) and Jazz (34-36).
On Sunday, the Kings were tied for second place in the Western Conference behind Memphis and still within striking distance of the first-place Denver Nuggets. Since All-Star Weekend, the Kings have won 11 of 13 games, including seven in a row on the road.
Naturally, the Kings’ expectations for their first playoff appearance since 2006 are high.
- Domantas Sabonis – Ready
Despite the Wizards’ physical approach, Domantas Sabonis once again led the Kings with 30 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds.
Sabonis had come into the game having already recorded four triple-doubles in his previous six games, and he finished just one rebound short of doing so again.
Sabonis, one of the most productive big men in the league, has played in nine games in the month of March, averaging 22.0 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.6 assists.
“He’s getting hit in the head, getting knocked to the ground and he just keeps coming,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said. “Superb effectiveness on 12 attempts (from the field). Where did you find 30 in 12? That’s completely absurd. To this day, I still have to keep harping on the fact that he was an All-NBA performer.”
Lauri Markkanen, an All-NBA candidate for the Jazz, had 28 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s come-from-behind victory over the Boston Celtics.
As reported by the Utah beat writer Ryan Miller, Markkanen (back) is questionable for Monday’s game against the Kings.
Markkanen was sidelined for a game on March 5 due to a back injury, and though he returned to action for the next five games, he still seems to be having problems with his back.
For Monday’s shootaround, he’ll see how he feels; if he can’t go, Simone Fontecchio and Rudy Gay will get more playing time. Without Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji and Talen Horton-Tucker could see an uptick in minutes as well.
