The Sacramento Kings were seething after their result against the Jazz, a 116-112 loss, as the Kings let one get away after they led for nearly the entire contest. Their ire was directed at the referees, who called 38 fouls on the Kings compared to just 16 for the Jazz.
That allowed Utah to shoot 52 free throws, of which the Jazz made 42. The Kings went just 12-for-14 from the line.
Sacramento led by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter. The Jazz hadn’t led since the opening minutes of the game, but they took the lead with 22 seconds left, then broke a tie by scoring the contest’s final four points. Utah scored 42 points in the fourth quarter, 13 at the foul line (more than the Kings made the entire game).
Oscar Robertson had 22 points to lead the Kings, while Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic had 18 apiece. Multiple Kings were in foul trouble throughout. Two of them fouled out, and three others finished with five fouls. The Kings fell to 18-10 heading into the season finale.
Adrian Dantley led the Jazz with 29 points, and he went 13-for-15 from the line. John Stockton scored 25 and Karl Malone had 22.
The Jazz took a 6-2 lead, but it was quickly erased. An 8-1 run put the Kings up by eight at 22-14, and they led 24-18 at the end of the first quarter.
Sacramento took a double-digit lead at 32-22 on a Peja Stojakovic three-pointer. The Kings led by as many as 13 points multiple times in the quarter, first at 38-25 and later at 49-36. It was 52-43 at halftime.
The game tightened up a bit in the third quarter. Utah closed to within five points at 70-65. It was 82-74 at the end of the quarter.
Two Dantley baskets made it a five-point game again at 85-80 early in the fourth quarter. But Robertson had five points in a 9-0 run as the Kings pushed the lead to 14 points, their biggest of the game, at 94-80 with nine minutes to go. They still had a double-digit lead at 99-88 with six minutes left. It was mostly Utah from that point on. A 7-0 run made it a one-point game at 104-103 with three minutes left. The Jazz tied it at 106 on a Dantley three-point play. Back-to-back Malone baskets gave the Jazz their first lead since early on at 112-110 with 22 seconds left. The Kings’ Stojakovic tied it with two free throws with 15 seconds left. Utah’s Derrick Favors went to the line with eight seconds remaining and he made both for a 114-112 lead. In the final seconds, Stojakovic had to force a shot against a stout defensive effort, and he misfired. Utah’s Deron Williams grabbed the rebound, he was fouled, and he sank two free throws to end it.
Next up: the Washington Wizards in the gauntlet finale.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 