Kings move closer to top eight in West after rallying past Jazz

Marcus Dinitto

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Kings move closer to top eight in West after rallying past Jazz image

The Jazz led the Kings for more than 46 of 48 minutes on Wednesday night, but that wasn’t enough to secure a win over the Kings.

Utah's lead got to as big as 20 points in the third quarter, before a 9-0 run by the Kings changed the game’s tone as Sacramento rallied for a 94-93 victory. 

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DeMarcus Cousins scored a team-high 21 points for Sacramento to follow up his 55-point performance against Portland on Tuesday, but reserve guard Ty Lawson was the Kings’ difference-maker.

Cousins did not make a field goal in the second half (0 of 5), although he did go 10 of 12 from the free-throw line after the break. Lawson, meanwhile, came off the bench to drop a season-high 19 points, including 15 on 5-of-8 shooting in the second half.

MORE: Cousins' mouthpiece goes flying, then mouth does the same

The Kings (12-17) moved percentage points behind the Trail Blazers (13-18) for eighth place in the Western Conference.

Utah’s Gordon Hayward had a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert registered his ninth straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. That ties Gobert with Minnesota’s Karl Anthony-Towns for the longest active double-double streak in the NBA.

Stud of the Night

Marc Gasol made 14 of 17 shots — including nine in a row at one point — and equaled his career high with 38 points to lead the Grizzlies to a 98-86 victory over the Pistons to snap a three-game losing streak. The loss was the Pistons’ fourth straight.

Gasol scored 17 of his 38 on 5-of-7 shooting as Memphis built a 29-19 lead in the first quarter. He dropped 12 more in the third quarter, when the Grizzlies outscored Detroit 26-19 to take a 16-point lead into the fourth.

MORE: Grizzlies coach rips lethargic team after loss to Celts

Memphis blew a 17-point lead in its overtime loss to Boston on Tuesday, but is now 8-0 this season on the second night of back-to-backs.

"You can tell when he’s locked in at shootaround and meetings. You can tell a different demeanor," Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said, per the Memphis Commercial-Appeal . "Obviously, he was angry — we all were — with the loss (Tuesday) night. You just knew guys would take that personal, and he did."

Gasol added five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Dud of the Night

Rajon Rondo shot 1 of 10 from the field, accounting for just three points, and the Bulls lost at home to the Wizards 107-97.

Chicago has lost four of its last five games, three of them at United Center, and there seems to be a direct relationship between that trend and Rondo’s scoring woes. The point guard has zero, seven, five and three points in those four losses.

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Rondo did have 10 assists but also four turnovers Wednesday.

The Bulls are now 14-14, the first time their record has dipped to .500 since they were 4-4 in early November.

Highlight

On his first trip to Cleveland as a member of the Bucks, Matthew Dellavedova was given his 2015-16 championship ring, and his former Cavaliers teammates showed their love and appreciation to their former Aussie teammate. 

What’s next

Spurs (23-5) at Clippers (21-8), 10:30 p.m. ET:  The Spurs are rolling, winning five straight and nine of 10 ahead of Thursday night’s game at Staples Center. But before you dismiss the Clippers’ chances without Blake Griffin — who had arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday — remember they beat the Spurs by 19 in LA when their star forward was sidelined last February (we should also mention Kawhi Leonard was out for the Spurs that night, too).

Marcus Dinitto