Led by the high-flying Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz got a much-needed 120-105 win over the Sacramento Kings.
It may have come against one of the worst teams in the NBA, but the Utah Jazz got a big-time confidence booster on Wednesday night.
They had been down in the dumps — losers of eight of their last 10 games — and were coming off a lousy effort against the Indiana Pacers. Despite the bad mojo, they put together one of their better efforts of the 2017-18 season, dropping the Sacramento Kings by 15 points at the Golden 1 Center.
With the win, Utah moved to 18-26 on the season.
Donovan Mitchell once again led the way for the Jazz. He had three absurd dunks in this game, and ended up with 34 points on the night. Along the way he shot an efficient 14-for-19 from the field, and was simply the best player on the floor.
Nevertheless, he credited the team’s character for the victory.
Donovan Mitchell splits the defense for the FLUSH!#TakeNote #NBARooks pic.twitter.com/j5vfENeKFb
— NBA (@NBA) January 18, 2018
Rodney Hood, who was booed for his play against Indiana, had himself a game. It was one of his better performances of the year. He was under control, made good decisions and gave the team a spark off the bench. He finished the night with 25 points.
A sight for sore eyes was the play of Joe Ingles. Jinglin’ Joe broke out of his slump, and knocked down four 3-pointers for the Jazz in the game. He had practically been a ghost for Utah in the past few games, so this was a great sight for Jazz fans.
Mitchell wasn’t the only impressive rookie on the floor during the game. Jazz fans also got quite an introduction to Kings rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic finished the game with 25 points on an incredible 9-of-11 shooting. He was red-hot in the second half, and gave the Kings some energy while they were trying to get back into the game. Still, Utah was able to withstand the mini-runs Sacramento made.
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Again — this has to be a confidence booster for the Jazz. Regardless of it coming against a weaker opponent, the Jazz simply needed a win. They shot well, moved the ball and got great production from key players.
The schedule has loosened up for the Jazz, so hopefully they can put together some wins moving forward. They take on the New York Knicks on Thursday night.