Jazz got a win over the Kings in a preseason game that felt more or less real

SALT LAKE CITY — A funny thing happened during Tuesday's preseason game between Utah and Sacramento: A real NBA contest ensued.

The Utah Jazz defeated the Sacramento Kings 117-114 in a game that wouldn't have looked out of place in the regular season.

All-Stars De'Aaron Fox and Demontas Sabonis both played 36 minutes for Sacramento (DeMar DeRozan played 37), and the Jazz played their entire regular rotation. It was a kind of test run for the original.

“This is the first game we've played in the preseason where it really feels like an NBA game the entire time,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “I think it’s really good for our group to get through this.”

Keyonte George had 24 points and five assists and showed no ill effects from the knee injury that sidelined him last weekend. However, he made a few mistakes at the latest.

George had a bad turnover that led to a Sacramento dunk with 18 seconds left, then appeared to foul Fox on a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left. However, after review, the foul was called on the ground, giving the Jazz the win.

“The audience was there; it felt like an NBA game,” George said with a smile. “Their main actors were there at the end of the game, just like us. It was definitely fun to finally play a real NBA game.”

Or at least come close to a real NBA game.

That left even more to question – like Utah's 24 turnovers (including 16 with live balls) and 20 offensive rebounds. Those two things resulted in the Kings taking 34 more shots than Utah.

Somehow the Jazz still won.

Lauri Markkanen, who scored 21 points on just 10 shots, joked afterward that the team just wanted to make things more interesting.

Hey, the fans really seemed to appreciate it.

The Delta Center raised regular-season decibel levels several times in the final minutes as the teams exchanged shots. And that begged the question: Should there be more optimism this season?

Time will tell, but there were enough positives — from George's stellar performance (late mistakes notwithstanding) to Markkanen's efficiency and the Jazz's confidence in their latest lottery pick to an uptick on defense — to make fans care at least a little more something to look forward to this season.

Markkanen said the experience was good for Cody Williams to get a taste of what life will be like when the regular season begins next Wednesday.

“That made it particularly exciting for newcomers – something we can look forward to in a week,” he said.

And next week could be a pretty big role for the rookie swingman. Williams, who had 6 points and four rebounds, finished the game for the Jazz; Part of it was the way he played, part of it was because Hardy wanted to see him in that situation.

“His intelligence really shines through in most moments. That often puts him in the right spot,” Hardy said. “The group that was in the game at the time seemed to have a certain rhythm and so we just went with it.”

At least it worked on Tuesday.

“I think, especially the defensive intensity, it felt like a real NBA game,” Williams said. “So everyone stepped up defensively and we got a little more competitive and that was the fun. The audience was also enthusiastic. So it was just a great environment.”

Was it just a coincidence that both teams took Tuesday seriously? Mostly yes.

Hardy said the decision was made internally to play the regular rotation as the team continues to prepare for the season opener. Coincidentally, the kings did the same.

“It's not like we talk to the other team and say, 'Hey, let's do this tonight.' “We knew a week ago that this game was going to be a full-on effort for everyone because of the training plan we set out,” he said.