Sacramento @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2019 ) Utah 101, Sacramento 102

The Utah Jazz will try to bounce back from their first loss since before Christmas when they host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Utah's 10-game winning streak was five shy of matching the franchise record but it came to a crashing halt with a 138-132 setback in overtime at New Orleans on Thursday.

Donovan Mitchell matched his career high with 46 points but had a handful of misses down the stretch in OT as the Jazz fell for the first time since Dec. 23 at Miami. "Obviously it was a really competitive game. I thought they were more physical with us in the first half, but we responded to that," coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "These games come down to a few plays. We made a few, but there were a few we didn't make." The Kings are coming off an 0-3 homestand capped by Wednesday's 127-123 defeat against Dallas. Three players scored at least 25 points for Sacramento but a fourth-quarter rally fell short as the squad dropped to 3-12 in its last 15 contests.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS California, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain

ABOUT THE KINGS (15-26): De'Aaron Fox scored 27 points and Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield had 25 apiece against Dallas, but Sacramento allowed the Mavericks to shoot 51.1 percent overall and score 108 points through the first three quarters. "It should be pretty clear until we can get out there and play that hard, at that pace and still keep a defensive mindset, there's going to be a lot of ups and downs," coach Luke Walton told reporters. Fox also had 12 assists and is averaging 24.1 points and 8.4 assists in January.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (28-13): Mitchell was 16-of-34 from the floor - 7-of-15 from 3-point range - in his big effort Thursday night, which came two games after he was held to a season-low four points while battling an illness in a win over Charlotte. The supporting cast helped Utah survive that night and it was strong again against the streaking Pelicans, as Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert chipped in 17 to go along with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Bogdanovic also had 26 points in the first meeting with the Kings at home, leading the Jazz to a 113-81 win.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jazz G Jordan Clarkson is averaging 17.8 points off the bench over his last four games.

2. Kings PF Richaun Holmes (shoulder) has missed four straight games and SG Bogdan Bogdanovic (ankle) has sat out six in a row.

3. Fox scored 25 points to lead Sacramento to a 102-101 win over Utah at home Nov. 1.

PREDICTION: Jazz 118, Kings 107