The Sacramento Kings land a much-needed rare soft spot in their closing schedule when they host the tail-spinning Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Consecutive home losses to the Dallas Mavericks have dropped the Kings (42-31) into the heart of the shuffle for play-in position in the Western Conference playoff race.
Sacramento will take the court Sunday in the eighth spot in the West, a half-game behind the No. 7 Phoenix Suns (43-31) and 1 1/2 games ahead of the No. 9 Los Angeles Lakers (41-33).
The Suns are off until Monday, when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans, while the Lakers visit the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the day Sunday.
The Kings are now halfway through a gauntlet of seven likely playoff teams in an eight-game stretch. They opened the sequence with wins over the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers, before the twin killing at the hands of the Mavericks.
After seeing the Jazz (29-45), who have lost eight in a row and have been eliminated from ...
