Kings at Jazz
The streaking Utah Jazz look to post their seventh consecutive victory when they host the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Utah has won 11 of its past 12 contests and resides in fifth place in the Western Conference with slim hopes of moving up to land homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
The Jazz are two games behind the fourth-place Portland Trail Blazers and 2 1/2 behind the third-place Houston Rockets with four games left on the slate. Utah, which rolled to a 118-97 road win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, has won nine of his last 11 games against Sacramento. The Kings recorded a 117-104 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday to keep their dream of a .500 season alive as they seek to end a stretch of 12 straight losing campaigns. "It shows we are moving in the right direction," shooting guard Buddy Hield said in a postgame television interview. "Everybody will be coming in next year willing to work. We know what the goal is and know what we're capable of doing - next year to make a playoff push. To finish .500 would be a blessing for us."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Sacramento), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)
ABOUT THE KINGS (39-40): Hield scored 23 points against the Cavaliers and knocked down five 3-pointers to raise his career total to 594, just five off the record through the first three seasons of a career set by Portland's Damian Lillard. "Dame is one of the great shooters in this league," Hield said during the postgame interview. "I'm just taking it game by game and if I break it, I break it. I want to. If it comes, I'll take it." Small forward Harrison Barnes is struggling down the stretch with 10 or fewer points in five of the past seven games after scoring nine against the Cavaliers.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (48-30): Small forward Joe Ingles has played in 300 consecutive games - the longest active streak in the NBA - and he celebrated with one of the best games of his career Wednesday. Ingles matched his career high of 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting - he was a stellar 6-of-8 from 3-point range - and also posted eight assists in the well-rounded effort. "I'm going to shoot when I'm open, regardless of if I'm making or missing," Ingles told reporters. "If it's a good shot, I'm going to take it. My team encourages me to do it."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz are 2-1 versus the Kings this season but Sacramento won the previous meeting in Salt Lake City, 119-110 on Nov. 21.
2. Sacramento rookie PF Marvin Bagley III scored 15 points against Cleveland and his reached double digits in each of his past 12 appearances.
3. Utah PF Derrick Favors (back) and swingman Kyle Korver (knee) will miss their third straight games, while SF Jae Crowder (quadriceps) and PG Ricky Rubio (hamstring) are questionable after sitting out Wednesday.