SACRAMENTO -- Twelve minutes of agony.
After a competitive first quarter at Golden 1 Center, the Utah Jazz tightened the screws down on the Kings Wednesday night. In a brutally painful second quarter, the team with the best record in the NBA pounded Sacramento with a 46-17 run to jump out to a 32-point halftime lead.
The limited number of fans allowed in the building vacated the premises early, but not before booing their home team. Led by the stellar play of Bojan Bogdanovic and a 23-point night off the bench by Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz ran over the Kings by a final of 154-105.
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Eight players scored in double figures for the Jazz and they knocked down an incredible 24-for-41 from 3-point range in the win.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings were completely embarrassed on their home court to fall to 25-37 on the season.
Bully ball
With Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox both on the shelf, the Kings are in trouble. Against the Jazz, the Kings looked like the freshman squad trying to hang with the varsity team.
NBA
Bogdanovic plowed through Kings defenders early to pace the Jazz. When the Kings tried to make an adjustment and go with a smaller, faster lineup, Utah responded by overpowering the home team.
Fox is going to be out a while due to health and safety protocols and Barnes is set to miss at least a few games with tightness in his left adductor. The Kings that are playing need to show more force and energy or it’s going to be a long few games.
Setup man
Tyrese Haliburton did not have a great defensive game. He allowed Clarkson to break him down off the dribble and when the Jazz went big, he was routinely caught in a mismatch.
On the offensive end, the rookie struggled with his shot early, but he made a point to get his teammates involved. Even Justin James got involved.
Haliburton finished the game with 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting and added a team-high eight assists. He also left with a few more valuable lessons. The 21-year-old needs to spend the summer stacking on weight and getting stronger if he hopes to compete with the bigger teams in the league.
Hield and Holmes
While it was an ugly performance all around, Buddy Hield and Richaun Holmes at least tried to keep the Kings in the game.
Hield finished the game with 18 points on 3-of-6 from long range. He added seven assists, five rebounds and a career-high three blocks.
Holmes struggled with his shot early, but recovered to notch another solid scoring night. In just his third game back from injury, Holmes finished with 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting.