Sacramento (6-10), which hasn't made the playoffs since 2006, ended Friday night with the fourth-worst record in the Western Conference.Īt least one player came to Walton's support after Friday's debacle. Some of those who hung around long enough to watch the Raptors embarrass the Kings in the second half could be heard shouting "Fire (Luke) Walton," a message management possibly could act upon before the start of Saturday's game.
The Golden 1 Center was 131only 75 percent full with 13,159 on hand for a third straight home defeat on Friday, one in which the hosts trailed Toronto by 30 points entering the fourth quarter. What the 35-year-old probably will see Saturday is that the Kings aren't the sellout machine they used to be. He played four seasons for the Kings, averaging 19.3 points in 223 games. Gay knows a little about Sacramento's crowds as well. So to be here, this is something that I've been waiting for." I've played against the Jazz a lot in my career, and it's never fun playing against that crowd. "One thing I did well today? I didn't hold the ball," Gay said of something he learned from watching Utah's first 14 games. He put on quite a show in his first game in a Jazz uniform, hitting five of his six 3-point attempts during a 20-point performance in just 18 minutes. The Jazz's win over the Raptors featured the Utah debut of Rudy Gay, who got a late start on the season for his new team after offseason heel surgery. Toronto blasted host Sacramento 108-89 on Friday night in the first half of the Kings' tough home back-to-back. Utah beat Toronto 119-103 at home on Thursday night to begin a three-team, three-day round robin between the Jazz, the Raptors and the Kings. Utah is coming off a 3-2 homestand that followed a two-game losing streak at Miami and Orlando. Harrison Barnes paced the Kings with 25 points, and Buddy Hield scored 24.