SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 4 (BNA): Dearron Fox kicked a layup with 0.4 seconds left and scored 22 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Utah Jazz 117-115 on Tuesday night.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen made a long jump at the final buzzer that initially did well, but reversed on a restart, the AP reports.
Time and time again, Sacramento has worked Fox into situations where he can use his speed to get to the basket or hit a midrange jumper against flabby defenders.
“If there’s a match-up that you feel we can exploit, go for it. I mean, that’s when you get to the fourth quarter in a lot of NBA games. It’s a real key,” Fox said, explaining that he was often changes. The play called for something he thinks works best.
Fox’s big fourth quarter included an emphatic dunk and an 18-foot haul with 23.1 seconds remaining to put the Kings up 115-112.
Fox, whose fourth quarter was the best of any quarter, said Fox.
Markkanen made all three free throws for a foul behind the arc, but Fox converted to the 7-foot Finn and drove by him on an acrobatic layup for the win.
The Kings then held their breath until Markkanen’s shot was denied after a short review.
“I thought I popped in the nick of time,” said Markkanen. “From the moment it left my hand it felt so good… It’s tough. Obviously, everyone remembers the end but there’s a lot we did early on, we fix it up and we win this ball game.”
Markkanen scored 28 points, including a 15-for-15 performance from the line, and Jordan Clarkson added 24 points. The Jazz lost their fifth straight game, with the five losses by a combined 17 points.
Domantas Sabonis, who was playing with a broken right thumb, recorded 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Kings win for the third time in four games.
“My main job was opening Fox,” Sabonis said. “He’s so quick and I saw him put that game-winner in that layup.”
Combined with a 126-125 win over the Jazz last week, Sacramento is three games ahead of Utah in the Western Conference standings.
“We’ve never been in this position before. We’re all learning and we’re all growing together and Fox is at the forefront of that,” said Sacramento coach Mike Brown.
Harrison Barnes had 19 on the Kings list, and Keegan Murray and Kevin Hutter added 16 each.
But it was Fox night.
“I thought he took a lot of shots at defenders in that middle area of the field, which is what you try to make him do with a player like Fox. He’s a really talented scorer and you can’t press too far,” Hardy said.
Tip-ins
Kings: Sabonis hit 17 straight field goals over the last two games against the Jazz until finally missing a shot in the second quarter. Sacramento’s 18 turnovers led to 27 Utah points. The Kings shot 53.5 percent from the field.
Jazz: Colin Sexton missed the game to manage his recurring right hamstring injury. Clarkson reached 10,000 career points with a basket in the first quarter. Mike Conley scored a season-high 18 points.
Next
Kings: Host Atlanta on Wednesday night to kick off a five-game Homestand.
Jazz: In Houston Thursday night.