Harrison Barnes scored 33 points and pushed the Sacramento Kings to a 130-114 win over the Utah Jazz in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
Domantas Sabonis added 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the winners, while De’Aaron Fox contributed 18 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Sacramento looked strong from the get go and Barnes fired 27 out of his 33 points in the first half to help the Kings burst ahead 72-58 at the break.
Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 24 points and six assists, while Lauri Markkanen added 19 points and 10 rebounds,
Jazz rookie Keyonte George, the 16th overall pick of the 2023 draft out of Baylor, scored eight points in his NBA debut, while King’s new signing Alexander Vezenkov took just seconds after stepping onto the court to score his first basket – a three pointer to give his team 20-18 lead in the middle of the first quarter. The Bulgarian finished with 8 points and 2 rebounds.