Jazz get promising signs — especially from Collin Sexton — in final preseason game

If the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings wanted a true final dress rehearsal, they probably should have found a different opponent for their last preseason game.

In six days, the Kings and Jazz will open the season against each other; they weren't about to show their plans a week too soon.

"I know (Sacramento coach Mike Brown) very well and he knows me," Jazz coach Will Hardy said before the game. "I doubt that either of us are gonna be kind of showing the whole book tonight."

Or even any of it.

The Jazz held out Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Kelly Olynyk; the Kings, who were also on the back end of an odd preseason back-to-back, played without starters De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray.

But don't tell Collin Sexton that Sacramento's 116-113 win over the Jazz didn't matter.

Sexton, playing in his usual ball-of-energy manner, had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists. He went 11-of-16 from the field, combining deep shots, midrange floaters and drives to the hoop (oh, and one alley-oop slam from a lob from Kris Dunn).

The 25 minutes he played was his best of the preseason — a strong statement to make as rotational minutes are still in flux. No wonder he was begging for more.

"Collin was itching in the fourth quarter to go back in," Hardy said.

Sexton was subbed out with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, and Hardy felt like he had seen enough from the spark-plug guard.

"I had to explain to him, like, you played 25 minutes; it's a preseason game, you played well. I'm happy with that, you should be happy with that," Hardy said. "I would rather Collin leave this game healthy and feeling good about his play than necessarily putting him back in to try to win the game."

Hardy would rather save that for next week when things start to count. The Jazz coach even admitted there were some clear adjustments that Utah would have made — especially late — if Thursday night's was a real game. They didn't want to give the Kings anymore to prep for though.

Even with that being the case, Hardy was encouraged by what he saw Thursday; that was highlighted by Sexton's big night.

"We did a better job as a team spacing to provide Collin some driving lanes to the basket," Hardy said. "He's really hard to guard one-on-one, especially in space. I thought he did a really good job of attacking his man off the dribble, and his teammates did a great job of spacing, and he was the beneficiary of that."

The can be said for Talen Horton-Tucker, as well, who had 26 points and eight assists, and Kris Dunn, who finished with 12 points and five assists. All three guards were able to break the paint to set up offense — even if some decisions were lacking once they got there.

"I'm happy that we're now at a point where our next game is a real one," Hardy said. "I think the team is in a good place mentally, and physically in pretty good shape."

And they got out of Sacramento without showing too much film for when things get real.

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