SACRAMENTO -- Running on empty.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings came out with a sloppy effort and were burned by a quality Utah Jazz team Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.
Playing without star guard Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz shared the ball and attacked the heart of the Kings’ defense to come away with a 133-112 win.
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SIGN UP HERE Here are three takeaways as the Kings (10-10) fell apart at home and fell back to .500 on the season.
Ricky Rubio got loose
Not known for his scoring capabilities, Rubio, the Jazz's veteran point guard, ran circles around the Kings in the first half. He knocked down a few jumpers, but he did real damage in taking the Kings to the rim.
Rubio finished the night with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and added seven rebounds and five assists.
NBA
With Mitchell out, someone needed to step forward for Utah (9-11). If you had Rubio in the pool, you won big.
Stuck in mud
The Kings looked mentally exhausted after playing Saturday night in Oakland. They overdribbled, made poor decisions and allowed the Jazz to control the tempo of the game from start to finish.
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Sacramento made a few runs, but it finished the night with just 20 assists to go with 17 turnovers.
A changing of the guard
Bogdan Bogdanovic missed 11 of the Kings’ first 12 games because of a knee issue, and had been relegated to the second unit since his return. With Iman Shumpert sitting out the game over “load management,” Kings coach Dave Joerger turned back to Bogdanovic, and he answered the call.
Bogdanovic played a team-high 33 minutes, finishing with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting to go with three rebounds and three assists. There is no word on whether Bogdanovic will remain in the starting lineup when the Kings host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.