Kings blow by Jazz with big 4th quarter

SACRAMENTO — Jerry Sloan wanted his club, proud owners of an eight-game home winning streak, to play with just as much vim and vigor on the road as it has been at EnergySolutions Arena.

And the Jazz did put up some fight Tuesday night at Sacramento — until the Kings answered with a 43-point fourth quarter en route to a 117-107 victory over Utah at Arco Arena.

That's three more points than Utah — which fell to 13-6 in the tail end of a back-to-back set that began with Monday's home win over Miami — has given up in any quarter this season.

It wasn't hard, Sloan suggested afterward, to pinpoint the cause of the collapse.

"We can't guard anybody," the Jazz coach said after an outing that kicked off a stretch with three straight away from home and 9 of 11 with bags packed. "I mean, that's pretty obvious when they shot as many layups as they did and got on top of the basket the way they did.

"They drove by us," Sloan added, "like we were standing in the mud."

Never was that more evident than when Kings forward Ron Artest drove past Jazz forward Carlos Boozer for a layup that accounted for two of Artest's 23 points.

Boozer was playing with his fifth foul at the time, and — reluctant to pick up his sixth and foul out — allowed Artest to blow by, putting Sacramento up 104-101 with two minutes and 35 seconds to go.

"It was a winnable ballgame up to that point," Sloan said.

Yet it was all Kings after that, as Sacramento outscored Utah 15-6 in the final 2:35.

Jazz foul trouble — Sacramento shot 47 free throws, Utah 22 — also was a big reason why.

"We knew we were in the penalty (in the fourth)," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "At that point, it didn't matter if it was Boozer or anybody else — we just had to keep taking it to the basket."

It was Artest's driving layup and a resulting goaltending call on Kirilenko that put Sacramento ahead to stay at 100-98 with 3:33 remaining.

The Jazz, meanwhile, fumbled and bumbled their way down the stretch, as Deron Williams committed two turnovers in a 31-second span with less than two minutes left.

The second miscue, a pass intended for Boozer on a fastbreak, preceded Kings point Beno Udrih driving the lane and stopping for a short pop that essentially dashed all Jazz hopes by making it 110-104 with 52.3 seconds left.