The Tribune

NBA star Chavano “Buddy” Hield scored 19 points, jawing with Donovan Mitchell, but it wasn’t enough as the Utah Jazz prevailed with the victory in Salt Lake City, Utah, last night.

Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points and Mike Conley added a season-best 30 points, lifting the Jazz to a 119-113 win over Hield and the Sacramento Kings.

Conley scored 13, including three 3s, in the fourth quarter, and Rudy Gobert made six clutch free throws down the stretch to move Utah to 7-1 on the season. Gobert had 12 points, 20 rebounds and four blocked shots.

This win wasn’t easy for Utah. The Kings kept hanging around and cut the lead to 115-113 on Harrison Barnes’s 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining.

Mitchell made two free throws while Hield jawed with him.

Gobert forced Barnes into a tough shot on a drive and then blocked Davion Mitchell’s shot on the next possession to seal the win, Utah’s sixth straight over the Kings.

The game was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than single digits.

Sacramento (3-3) took its final lead of the game on Richaun Holmes’s tip-in with 5:02 remaining to make it 102-101. Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Seven Sacramento players scored in double figures.

The Jazz have been struggling from the 3-point arc and went 4 of 25 in first half, missing 10 in a row at one point. But the Jazz used the long ball to gain advantage in the second half, especially behind Mitchell and Conley. The pair combined to go 11 for 21 from beyond the arc.

Mitchell scored 17 points in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to shake Sacramento, which trailed 90-87 entering the final period. However, he had one play that deflated Kings’ spirit. Mitchell missed a 3-pointer, ran to grab the rebound and then made a layup as the Kings stood and watched. Sacramento coach Luke Walton was visibly upset and called a quick timeout.