SALT LAKE CITY — Immediately following the Utah Jazz’s 103-97 win against the Sacramento Kings Saturday, the first text message that Joe Ingles read after the game was from his wife, Renae.
“Congratulations,” it read.
With 2:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Australian sharpshooter made history with a transition 3-pointer to become No. 1 on the Jazz’s all-time list for 3-pointers made in a single season.
His 179 treys this season have passed Randy Foye’s previous mark (178) from the 2012-13 season.
Ingles called it an honor to enter the record books as his 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds also helped the Jazz win their ninth consecutive game. Utah is 21-2 since Jan. 24.
“I knew I was close a little while ago, but I didn’t really know how close and the first message I read from my wife was that, so it was a cool way to find out from her,” Ingles said after splashing three treys. “It’s an honor to be a part of this franchise and to hold something. It’s a few that are untouchable, so I found one that I can get, so it’s cool.”
As great as Ingles’s offensive achievement was, it was defense that won the game for the red-hot Jazz. Rudy Gobert led the way once again with 22 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
With 33.6 seconds remaining in regulation, Gobert’s huge swat over a driving Bogdan Bogdanovic was a game-changer to help the Jazz close the game on a 7-3 run.
He’s dominating the paint as the Jazz hold the second-best defensive rating in the league (101.8).
“Just try to be focused and make sure they don’t score and, you know, Joe (Ingles) did a great job of making him drive and I just had to block it,” Gobert said of the late swat.
Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with a game-high 28 points. He posted 17 points in the second half as the Utah also outscored Sacramento 26-16 in the paint.
Jae Crowder contributed 11 points off the bench, while Ricky Rubio was a plus-27 with 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 34 minutes.
“The team came in playing very hard. They play very hard and very free,” Crowder said. “We knew we had to come in and play a whole game. These guys never quit. They’re a hot team right now in the NBA. We knew we had our work cut out for us tonight. We just had to finish business.”
Sacramento trailed 32-27 after one quarter but led by as many as nine points in the game.
The Kings shot a season-high 66.7 percent from beyond the arc, going 14 for 21, as Buddy Hield finished with 23 points, six assists and six boards to help the Kings outscore the Jazz bench, 56-15.
“I think we played great despite the loss tonight,” Hield said. “Finding our identity is something we’re finding late but it’s better to end on a better note. When we go into summer we can work on our weaknesses so that we can get better.”
Utah (40-30) swept the season series against the Kings, winning all three contests. The Jazz will host the Atlanta Hawks next at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Vivint Arena.
Ingles didn’t enter this season with any individual goals but hopes to keep the hot streak going.
“I guess as the year goes on, you can kind of see where you’re going and what trend you’re kind of heading in, but I’ve always just wanted to be aggressive and help the team on both ends of the floor and get guys involved, and it’s good,” Ingles said.