Ricky Rubio leads the race as Jazz picks up a skid game with a 133-112 victory over the Kings

Sacramento, California. • After Donovan Mitchell had a rib bruise on Friday against the Lakers, it was announced Saturday that he would play Sunday's game against the Kings.

Considering that Mitchell scores an average of 20.6 points per game and scored 35 in the previous meeting of the Jazz with Sacramento, his presence would certainly be missed. So who could intervene to fill the void?

Well, Ricky Rubio had Mitchell's ppg covered at half-time and finished with 27; Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles each contributed 18 times; Alec Burks and Jae Crowder – who started instead of Derrick Favors – added 14 each; and Favors then scored 11 points on the bench, helping the Jazz get away from three defeats with a win of 133-112 at Golden1 Center.

"With Donovan, we wanted to be collectively aggressive. We had to play a different style of attack: move the ball, make sure these guys protect all positions, "Crowder said. "… we had a good flow."

After Kings' coach Dave Joerger announced the need for his team to continue pushing the ball before the match, the Kings really took the lead in the third period. Perhaps in part he was tired after a wire-to-wire battle the night before against the Warriors. Again, the solid transition defense that Jazz finally deployed to Los Angeles seemed to be traveling in the north of the state with them.

Utah mostly frustrated Sacramento's efforts to escape, putting the Kings at 13 points at the bottom of the season. Meanwhile, the Jazz has more control over the game by providing transitional compartments, generating a multitude of open throws that the team has converted with great efficiency. (The Jazz shot 53.3% for the game.)

This is not because it seemed particularly likely that this would happen after a new departure below normal. The top five possessions in Utah included two defeats, three turnovers and a 7-0 deficit. This time, however, the team did not wait so long to defend themselves.

"We did not play well at the start of the match, but we were ready," said coach Quin Snyder. "And our bench was great tonight. The guys who came into the game all played at a high level and kept on guarding, which is the most important thing. "

Rubio, however, was the catalyst. With the kings sagging screens, he drained two 3. Then, with their closing, he attacked the way. Rubio made his first four shots and scored nine points in the first five minutes of the match. He finished the first frame 7 out of 8 for 16 points – a career high for a quarter.

He also scored 3 of 4 in the second quarter, and scored 23 points at half-time, with the Jazz having a 59-50 lead.

"We played against them a week ago, and I know that their game plan allowed me to shoot, so I was ready for that," Rubio said. In addition, Donovan was not in the game, so I was a bit more aggressive. It happened several times and I kept shooting.

Snyder was pleased with the balance as his leader – who also totaled seven rebounds and five assists – was brought to the match.

"Whenever he can go, he is allowed to do it. When he will have open looks, we want him to take them, "Snyder said. "… It may happen that he spends something to get the ball to someone else, but I think he knew tonight his mark was important."

The Kings finally found their pace in the third quarter, starting at the break, scoring 3 seconds, and reducing a single-digit Jazz lead while Rubio was sitting on the bench with four fouls.

The Jazz pushed back with the movement of the ball and constantly found the man open (they would finish with 30 assists on 49 racks made). A pair of three consecutive points from Ingles and rookie Grayson Allen have stopped the bleeding.

Offensively, the balloon was moving. That's how we have to play, "said Snyder. "If we do that and we are patient, the ball usually finds somebody."

The Kings had their best punch. The Jazz absorbed, smiled, and then drew his own hay producers.

The question of who would stand for Mitchell responded, the Jazz are now facing another: how will they react in the second half back, facing the Indiana Pacers Monday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena?

"We have been trying to develop every game – we have to take it with us tomorrow night at home," Crowder said. "… everything will be fine if we respect our principles and stay the course."

In the meantime, it might wait a bit. They just wanted to savor the return of the winners. Not that they abuse it, of course. Asked if this was the best game his team had played recently in terms of effective offensive fusion with a radical defense, Snyder smiled.

"I'm not ready to distribute superlatives," he said. "I think we played better. I want to keep playing better. "

Then he walked away and crossed a door leading to the locker room before banging his head and shouting, "That means yes!