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Kings down Jazz in Game 3 By
Jason Sauter The Utah Jazz had another crushing defeat as they lost to Sacramento Kings in Game 3 of their NBA opening-round playoff Saturday at the Delta Center. The series lead now goes back to the Kings 2-1, with the chance to wrap up series tonight. The game came down to the wire as Utah's Rusty LaRue missed the game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. The Jazz lost 90-87. The eighth-seeded Jazz have played the Kings surprisingly hard, considering the Kings beat the Jazz by an average of more than 22 points a game in four contests during the regular season. With 26 seconds to go and the Kings leading by three, the Jazz did not need to foul in order to get the ball back. However, Jazz guard John Stockton made a mistake by intentionally committing a foul when there were no fouls left to give. Stockton also fouled out, making it even more difficult. According to the Associated Press, Stockton's explanation was, "We had tried to get the ball back, and when you need to foul, you need to foul." In Game 2 the Jazz were able to use their ball-control tempo to pull off the upset. The Jazz looked to carry that momentum into Game 3, however that wasn't the case. Things looked bright for the Jazz as they got off to 7-0 to start the game but Stockton got into early foul trouble and the Kings took advantage. After the first quarter the Kings lead 32-21. In the second quarter the Jazz got back into the game by setting up their ball control offense which slowed down the quick scoring Kings. Toward the end of second quarter Utah hit two key three pointers by Bryon Russell and LaRue to trail the Kings by one at halftime 46-45. The Kings maintained a close lead for most of the second half. Even when Sacramento all-star Chris Webber picked up his fourth foul as was on the bench for most of the third quarter. Jazz forward Donyell Marshall hit a three pointer to give Utah its first lead 81-79 in the second half with 3:21 to go. But the Kings refused to lose by hitting key baskets down the stretch. According to the Associated Press, "Even though they went ahead and even though it seemed like things weren't going our way, we were able to get through it and get a very tough win," said Sacramento Kings coach, Rick Adelman. The Kings shot 36 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers. The key to game was that the Kings out rebounded the Jazz 55-29 and they converted 33-of-38 free throws. The Kings got a big game from point guard Mike Bibby who scored 26 points including 9-of-9 from the free line. The Kings starting forwards Peja Stojakovic and Webber were also dominate in combining for 39 points and 24 rebounds. The Jazz were lead by Karl Malone, who had 23 points and seven assists.
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