Jazz get crowned by the Kings, lose 117-107
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by CRS-ONE
After the third period, the Utah Jazz were leading the [[Sacramento Kings], 77-74.
Early in the fourth, the Kings' leading scorer Kevin Martin left with a groin injury, which should have been something that would have given the Jazz the game.
But it didn't.
Sacramento guard John Salmons scored 13 straight points (21 points on the night) to lead the King fourth quarter comeback. The team scored 43 points that quarter and were blistering hot; shooting 11-14 from the field and 19-22 from the free throw line.
In my preview, I mentioned that the Jazz would have a hard time with Sacramento's four headed guard monster (Martin, Salmons, Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia). They did; scoring 66 points on the night.
The Kings wreaked havoc on the Jazz' defenders, getting 47 free throw attempts. Salmons and Martin were getting the star treatment from the refs, propably due to it being a home game. Martin was getting whistles in his favor when there was even no contact. These free throw attempts are what allowed them to get back into and eventually win the game.
The Jazz also helped the Kings with some awful shooting from Mehmet Okur who had 17 points (on 7-21 shooting) and Deron Williams 30 points (10-22). I would have much rather seen them try to feed the ball to Carlos Boozer at the low post or run more slashing plays for Andrei Kirilenko. He had only 6 shots on the night and should have had more touches.
The Jazz still need to work on being a stronger road team. They really could have won this game, which would give them confidence. That' ssomething they're going to need as they take on both the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks in Texas this weekend.
