Kings 101, Jazz 92
Rudy Gay scored 29 points and Darren Collison added 16 points and six assists as Sacramento handed visiting Utah its ninth straight setback.
Rookie Nik Stauskas recorded season highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who improved to 2-4 since DeMarcus Cousins went down. Reggie Evans hauled in 13 rebounds and Jason Thompson added 10 points and nine boards.
Gordon Hayward collected 19 points, seven assists and four steals as the Jazz dropped to 2-8 on the road. Alec Burks scored 16 points while Trey Burke and Enes Kanter added 13 apiece for Utah.
The Jazz took a 70-68 lead on Burks’ free throws 45 seconds into the fourth quarter but Derrick Williams and Stauskas each scored five points as the Kings bench led a 12-0 run. Burks pulled Utah within 82-79 on a putback with 5:26 to play but Stauskas capped a 7-0 run with a three-point play to push the lead back to 10 and Sacramento held off a late charge.
The Kings bench led a second-quarter surge before Gay scored four points during a 6-0 burst that closed the half and gave Sacramento a 55-49 lead at the break. The Kings led by as much as seven points early in the third but the Jazz battled back to take a brief lead before going into the fourth locked at 68.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cousins, who is battling viral meningitis, was ruled out indefinitely by coach Mike Malone earlier in the day. … The Jazz went 3-of-17 from 3-point range, with Hayward connecting on one of his seven attempts. … Stauskas played a season-high 30 minutes – matching his total from the previous three games.