SACRAMENTO, California – Harrison Barnes scored 24 points that carried the Sacramento Kings to a 127-106 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Stephen Curry, meanwhile, had 33 points and the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the undermanned San Antonio Spurs 117-113 for their fourth straight victory.
Barnes took on a bigger role offensively for the short-handed Kings and delivered with 16 points in the decisive third quarter.
“We knew we had some different lineups out there,” Barnes said according to AP. “Coach told everyone they had the green light. Shoot and be aggressive. … I tried to shoot with confidence.”
Keegan Murray scored 25 points to lead the Kings. De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 12 assists, and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 57th straight double-double. That helped the Kings complete a three-game series sweep against Utah for their first season sweep against the Jazz since 2001-02.
Sacramento moved into a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with Phoenix but remained two games behind sixth-place Dallas in the race to avoid the play-in tournament.
Brice Sensabaugh and Collin Sexton each scored 22 points for the Jazz, who have lost nine straight games overall. Utah has dropped 11 in a row on the road and hasn’t won away from home since Jan. 27 at Charlotte.
Coach Will Hardy saw some positive signs from his young team that featured three rookie starters, but defense was a glaring issue.
“We´ve got to continue to shore up our communication,” Hardy said. “All five people on the court have to do their job. Defense is hard in this league but we had too many breakdowns in the half court, where two or three guys would execute and one person would be a little bit late. Against a good team like that, a very potent offense like that, they punish you.”
Both teams were short-handed, with Sacramento playing without guard Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and sixth man Malik Monk (knee). Utah was missing three of its top four scorers: Jordan Clarkson (back), Lauri Markkanen (shoulder) and John Collins (back).
The Kings did get back two reserves with Trey Lyles (left knee) and Sasha Vezenkov (right ankle) returning to action.
The Jazz managed to stay close for a little more than a half before the big run in the third quarter turned it into a blowout. Murray started it with a 3-pointer followed by two more from long range from Barnes.
Sacramento scored 15 straight and went on a 23-2 run in a span of less than five minutes behind 13 points from Barnes to take an 81-60 lead midway through the third quarter. Barnes scored 16 points in all in the quarter.
“Every time on the offensive side, we found the open guy,” Murray said. “HB was ready when his numbers was called. I feel collectively we did a good job of finding the right guy and making the extra pass so we got the open shot.”
“I think Steph was really extra motivated to play well in front of his kids and (his wife,) Ayesha,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
“He played a great game. There was a lot of pressure on him out there. (San Antonio point guard) Tre Jones does a really good job defensively, (but) he found a way to get free and hit some big shots.”
Curry was 12 for 23 from the field, hitting 7 of 15 3-pointer attempts, as Golden State clings to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference – two games ahead of Houston after the Rockets´ home loss to Dallas on Sunday.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had 32 points and nine rebounds.
“He is a very, very, very, very special talent,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “I was just telling Trayce (Jackson-Davis) and those guys, I´m happy I had an opportunity to play against him now because they´ll have to deal with him a lot later and I won´t be in the league no more.”
