SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and keyed a big third-quarter run for Sacramento that carried the Kings to a 127-106 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Barnes took on a bigger role offensively for the short-handed Kings and delivered with 16 points in the decisive third quarter.
''We knew we had some different lineups out there,'' Barnes said. ''Coach told everyone they had the green light. Shoot and be aggressive. ... I tried to shoot with confidence.''
Keegan Murray scored 25 points to lead the Kings. De'Aaron Fox had 24 points and 12 assists, and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 57th straight double-double. That helped the Kings complete a three-game series sweep against Utah for their first season sweep against the Jazz since 2001-02.
Sacramento moved into a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with Phoenix but remained two games behind sixth-place Dallas in the race to avoid the play-in tournament.
Brice Sensabaugh and Collin Sexton each scored 22 points for the Jazz, who have lost nine straight games overall. Utah has dropped 11 in a row on the road and hasn't won away from home since Jan. 27 at Charlotte.
Coach Will Hardy saw some positive signs from his young team that featured three rookie starters, but defense was a glaring issue.
''We've got to continue to shore up our communication," Hardy said. "All five people on the court have to do their job. Defense is hard in this league but we had too many breakdowns in the half court, where two or three guys would execute and one person would be a little bit late. Against a good team like that, a very potent offense like that, they punish you.''
