SACRAMENTO, March 23 (UPI) -- Al Jefferson's tip-in with a second to play Thursday gave the Utah Jazz a dramatic 103-102 victory over Sacramento.
The lead changed hands four times in the final 27 seconds in a meeting of the teams with the two longest active winning streaks in the Western Conference.
Utah won its fifth in a row while Sacramento suffered its first loss in four outings.
With Utah holding a 99-97 lead, Marcus Thornton hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to give Sacramento a one-point advantage. Devin Harris then made a layup for Utah and Thornton followed with a layup of his own with 3 seconds remaining for a 102-101 Sacramento lead.
After a timeout, Harris missed on a jumper for Utah but Jefferson was there to tip it in. Thornton had time to get off a desperation jumper just before the buzzer that failed to go.
Jefferson made 13-of-19 shots and scored 26 points to lead the Jazz, who stayed within a half game of Houston for the final play berth in the Western Conference.
Tyreke Evans had 25 points off the bench for the Kings.
