The Sacramento Kings used strong defense and late-game heroics from Willie Cauley-Stein to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 86-82.
The Kings were looking to rebound after a tough three-game road trip, capped off by a 46 point loss to Atlanta. De’Aaron Fox and Skal Labissiere started as Sacramento changed their starting lineup for the first time in 5 games. It paid off at the start as they took an 8-7 lead while having a good defensive performance. Portland responded with an 11-2 run which allowed them to end the 1st quarter up 20-19. Sacramento held the Blazers scoreless through the first 5 and a half minutes of the 2nd quarter as Portland struggled to do anything productive on offense, committing 11 turnovers in the first half compared to 3 for the Kings. They managed to keep the lead going into halftime at 42-41.
After halftime, the game became a back and forth affair as the two teams traded the lead after each basket. Damian Lillard was the go-to man for Portland, recording 29 points on 9 of 25 shooting while netting 4 assists. Cauley-Stein quickly found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points en route to a double-double (22 Pts, 10 Reb) as the Kings pulled away from Portland to win.
Sacramento limited Portland to 37 percent shooting on the night as they struggled to find open shots. The only negative for the Kings was that Buddy Hield injured his ankle late in the 4th. The Kings play the Trail Blazers again on Saturday, this time in Portland.
