Domantas Sabonis dropped in the go-ahead hoop on a follow shot with 6.4 seconds left, Zach LaVine saved seven of his 31 points for a frantic finish, and the Sacramento Kings won their home opener 105-104 over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
Sabonis put up a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while reserve Malik Monk chipped in with 20 points and Dennis Schroder added 17 for the Kings, who trailed 96-92 after Brice Sensabaugh drilled a 3-pointer for the Jazz with 5:10 to go.
The teams traded leads in the final 4:17, with Utah going up one final time at 104-103 with 28.1 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by Lauri Markkanen.
The Kings then went to Monk, who misfired from close range. But Sabonis snatched the offensive rebound and dropped in a point-blank shot while getting fouled by Walker Kessler.
After Sabonis missed the free throw, the Jazz had a chance to win, but Keyonte George misfired on a buzzer-beating attempt from 21 feet, allowing the Kings to capture their home opener.
Rebounding from an opening loss at Phoenix, LaVine was the driving force late for the Kings. His 3-pointer with 4:57 left and interior hoop with 3:19 to go book-ended a 7-0 burst that flipped the game in the Kings’ favor at 99-96 after they had trailed by four less than two minutes earlier.
LaVine had another hoop with 1:12 to play, keeping the Sacramento lead at three, before George hit a layup at the 1:03 mark and Markkanen drained his two free throws for a 104-103 Utah lead with 28.1 seconds to go.
In a game neither team led by more than eight points, Sabonis made six of his nine shots and LaVine 10 of his 18 for the Kings, who outshot the visitors 48.2% to 44.2%.
Connecting four times from beyond the arc, Markkanen was the game’s leading scorer with 33 points. George added 18 as part of a double-double with a game-high 10 assists, while Sensabaugh had 15 points, and Kyle Filipowski and Walter Clayton Jr. added 10 apiece.
Jusuf Nurkic grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench for Utah, which was seeking a second straight win after opening with a home triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Jazz outrebounded the hosts 50-33.
–Field Level Media
