The Utah Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings, 121-99, at Golden1 Center on Sunday night in the final game of the regular season. The Jazz finish the season with a record of 52-20, the best record in the league, and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
High Notes
- Mike Conley, in his second game back from missing nine consecutive games, was on track for a possible triple-double. Had it not been for the fact that the Jazz were blowing out the Kings and that Conley was still on a bit of a minutes restriction he might have gotten there. Conley, who played in just 16 minutes on Friday, played just shy of 22 minutes on Sunday and scored 11 points, including going 3 of 3 from 3-point range, dished out nine assists, pulled down six rebounds and grabbed three steals. It was a very well-rounded and efficient performance and it seems as though any rust from being out for a couple weeks was shaken off.
- The Jazz were having a little bit of trouble getting their offense going on Sunday and then Jordan Clarkson started to cook. He finished with 33 points and shot 6 of 12 from deep.
- Outside of Conley and Clarkson, the Jazz had five other players score in double figures in a nice well-rounded offensive effort.
- The Jazz have played an incredible season of basketball and we have a very, very exciting playoffs ahead of us. I can’t wait to be there and cover every second of it for all of you.
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Low Notes
- Bit of a sloppy start, but it was the last game of the season against one of the worst teams in the league. You’d like to see a better start, but it’s not really anything to turn your nose up at. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to muster the energy needed to play game 72 against a Kings team not at full strength
- The Jazz’s live-ball turnovers are one of the few things that should be a bit of a concern as they head into the postseason. They usually focus a bit more and clean things up as the game goes along, but getting down early and turning the ball over a lot in the first half against a playoff team is a lot different than in a regular season game. I should also probably point out that four of the Jazz’s 15 turnovers were committed by Bojan Bogdanovic.
Flat Notes
- The Kings had nothing to play for, having already been eliminated from play-in contention, and they barely fielded a real team. Their injury report was as long as a CVS receipt, so the last Jazz game was a bit of a snooze fest, but if you’re a Jazz fan, that’s better than the No. 1 seed being at risk. My questions are how long before Luke Walton is fired? And, how long before the Kings are actually a relevant team in the NBA?
Kings injury report ...
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) May 17, 2021
Harrison Barnes (adductor)-OUT
Marvin Bagley III (groin)-OUT
Tyrese Haliburton (knee)-OUT
De’Aaron Fox (Health & Safety Protocols)-OUT
Richaun Holmes (knee) - OUT
Justin James (ankle) - OUT
Hassan Whiteside (back)- OUT