Jazz at Kings
The Utah Jazz could be without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell when they attempt to snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday against the host Sacramento Kings. Mitchell, who scored 35 points in a loss to the Kings on Wednesday, left in the first half of Friday's 90-83 setback at the Los Angeles Lakers due to a rib contusion and the team is expected to update his status prior to Sunday's contest.
The injury comes at a bad time for a squad that has lost nine of 13 games since a 4-2 start, although confidence is still high. "There were times last year we weren't a very good team. We were able to work through that, and that's why we became a good team," Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters of last season's 48-34 finish. "No different (now) - there's always adversity, there's always challenges, it comes in different shapes and sizes." The Kings followed up their win over the Jazz with a 117-116 loss at Golden State on Saturday. Buddy Hield scored 28 points but had a miss in the closing seconds as Sacramento was sent off to begin a three-game homestand on a sour note.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Utah), NBCS California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (8-11): Utah was 4-for-23 from 3-point range in the loss to the Lakers as its long-range percentage dipped to 32.1 - second-to-last in the Western Conference entering Saturday. Mitchell, Ricky Rubio, Jae Crowder and Royce O'Neale were a combined 0-for-15 from beyond the arc in the setback. Center Rudy Gobert saw his string of consecutive double-doubles snapped at 10 when he finished with 13 points and seven rebounds at Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE KINGS (10-9): Rookie Marvin Bagley III also had a miss on the final possession at Golden State but still finished with a season high-tying 20 points and a personal-best 17 rebounds for his second double-double in three games. He was part of a bench that provided loads of support (56 points) while multiple starters continued to go through some cold spells. De'Aaron Fox shot 3-for-14 and is 10-for-38 over his last three games while Willie Cauley-Stein (3-for-9 on Saturday) is 19-for-47 over a four-game span, although the outlier during that stretch was a 23-point effort against Utah.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah has won seven straight games at Sacramento.
2. Hield is 16-for-31 from 3-point range over his last five contests.
3. Gobert averages 15.6 points while shooting 70.2 percent on the road.