Trail Blazers
Trail Blazers Outscore Kings 44-26 in the Third and Win 128-120
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 128-120 at Golden 1 Center. Portland trailed 64-59 at halftime, then won the third quarter 44-26 and held on. The Trail Blazers are 2-0 and fourth in the West. The Kings are 0-2 and 15th.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 4 h ago01The story of the nightThe third quarter decided itSacramento led 33-27 after one quarter and 64-59 at halftime.
Sacramento led 33-27 after one quarter and 64-59 at halftime. Portland scored 32 in the second quarter to stay close, then 44 in the third. The Kings managed 26 in that quarter. The swing put Portland up 103-90 going into the fourth. It was the only lead change of the game, and the Trail Blazers never gave the lead back. Sacramento won the fourth quarter 30-25, but that cut the deficit only to the final margin of eight. The Kings' biggest lead was 12. Portland's was 14.
02Top performersDarius Acuff Jr.
Darius Acuff Jr. led all scorers with 33 points for the Kings. He needed 26 shots to get there, making 10, and had three turnovers. He made 11 of 12 free throws. Domantas Sabonis had 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists on 10-of-13 shooting. Zach LaVine added 22. For Portland, Deni Avdija scored 26 with seven rebounds and six assists. Damian Lillard had 19 points and was plus-19 in 32.7 minutes. Toumani Camara scored 19, including five threes on 10 attempts.
03Threes and the benchThe Trail Blazers won this game from distance and off the bench.
The Trail Blazers won this game from distance and off the bench. They made 14 of 48 threes. The Kings made 8 of 32. Portland's reserves outscored Sacramento's 44-22. Sidy Cissoko had 15 points and seven rebounds. Robert Williams III made all six of his shots for 13 points in 18 minutes. Jrue Holiday added 12 points and eight assists. Sacramento's bench was led by Precious Achiuwa, who scored 14 and was minus-14 in 26.1 minutes. Emanuel Sharp had five points. The other Kings reserves combined for three.
04Paint, glass and turnoversInside, the teams split.
Inside, the teams split. Sacramento scored 60 points in the paint to Portland's 58. The Kings also made 28 of 30 free throws, against 22 of 30 for Portland. The Trail Blazers gained ground elsewhere. They had 59 rebounds to 51 and 30 assists to 21. Sacramento turned it over 14 times to Portland's nine. Portland had eight steals and five blocks, against five and two for the Kings. Donovan Clingan had 11 rebounds and three blocks in 20.5 minutes. Fast-break points were 13 to 10 for Portland, and points off turnovers were 11 to 10.
05What it meansPortland is 2-0 and fourth in the West.
Portland is 2-0 and fourth in the West. It has won two straight. Sacramento is 0-2 and 15th in the West, with two straight losses. The teams also met on Oct. 13, when Portland won 110-98 in Portland. For the Kings, the result came despite big nights from Acuff and Sabonis, who scored 33 and 27. They shot 8 of 32 from three as a team and were outscored by 18 in the third quarter. Portland got scoring from nine different rotation players and kept the turnover count at nine.
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