Watch: Lauri Markkanen almost hits a miracle game-winner

With 0.4 seconds left, Jarred Vanderbilt fired an inbounds pass 75 feet down the court to the streaking Markkanen, who immediately sunk a three-pointer that sent the Utah crowd into pandemonium. But then the officials checked the video and realized the ball was still on Markkanen's fingertips as time expired.

Markkanen's near-amazing effort followed a clutch play by De'Aaron Fox on the other end, where the Sacramento Kings guard zipped around Markkanen for the go-ahead layup, leaving almost no time on the clock. Almost.

It was the second time in five days that the Kings beat the Utah Jazz on a last-second shot. Friday night, Kevin Huerter made a go-ahead three-pointer with nine seconds remaining, and Markkanen also failed to hit a game-winner at the end.

Now Sacramento (20-16) has a three-game lead on Utah (19-21). It's the fastest they've reached 20 wins since the 2004-5 season. Still, Domantas Sabonis was worried about Markkanen's shot, even knowing he shouldn't have had time to release it.

"It was 0.4. Once I saw him catch it with his back to the basket, I didn't even worry," Sabonis told reporters after the game. "But then, you know, we're the Kings. We might have lost."

The Kings have been victimized by bad calls late in games all year. But now that they're sitting in fifth place in January, perhaps they're no longer the same old Kings.