Poor shooting and turnovers by the Trail Blazers lead to a loss to the Kings

SACRAMENTO – For more than two quarters on Monday night, the Portland Trail Blazers played the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center.

Portland trailed just 60-58 with 7:26 left in the third quarter after jumpers from Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant.

Then Kings guard De'Aaron Fox hit a three-pointer, and then the Blazers started to catch up because of their lack of three-pointers, turnovers and an inability to prevent Sacramento's open attacks. At the end of the third period, Portland trailed 89-71.

From there, the Kings won 111-98.

“It was unfortunate because I thought we played well,” Blazes coach Chauncey Billups said of the team’s lack of shooting. “We fought defensively. We did a lot of things that we said we wanted to try against them. We didn't let the lack of shooting quality discourage us, which is difficult on a night like this. But I was proud of us. We played hard.”

The Kings shot 61.9% from the field and 6 of 10 three-pointers in the decisive third quarter.

At this point, the Blazers had actually scored their best in the third period (50%), but the Kings' early struggles had kept them relatively close in the first half.

Portland made just one of 13 three-pointers in the first half and trailed 51-43 at halftime. It would have been much worse if the Kings hadn't shot 38.5% from the field.

As the game became close in the third, Billups hoped his team would be the one to discover their shooting style.

“We hadn’t fired a shot the entire time,” he said. “So I say to myself, 'Okay, keep it close and we'll get some shots in at some point.”

The Blazers did. To a certain extent. But not at the same pace as the Kings. Once Sacramento got going offensively, the Blazers – the NBA's worst three-point shooting team – couldn't keep up.

Ayton led the Blazers with 20 Points and 11 rebounds. Backup point guard Scoot Henderson came off the bench to score 18 points on a night where starting point guard Anfernee Simons scored just 12 points on 4 of 12 shooting. He made 1 of 7 on threes and committed four turnovers with three assists.

The Kings' top three players all had good nights. Center Domantas Sabonis scored 16 points with 13 rebounds and seven assists. Fox finished the game with 24 points and four assists, while forward DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazers (1-3) could blame fatigue after a big win over New Orleans on Sunday afternoon. Additionally, the Kings (1-2) were desperate for a win after losing close games to the Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1) and Los Angeles Lakers (3-1).

Bad shots and sales

The Blazers dug an 11-point hole in the first quarter while missing all eight of their three-point attempts. The first mark came from Henderson early in the second quarter.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well as a group today,” Simons said. “They shot and we didn’t.”

Additionally, the Blazers committed nine turnovers in the first half, leading to 11 points for the Kings.

Despite their sloppy play, the Blazers trailed by just two points in the third quarter before falling to the bottom.

During the game, the Blazers shot 42.2% from the field and 4 of 22 (18.2% on threes) and committed 17 turnovers.

The Kings made 14 of 35 points on three-pointers (40%).

Ayton said King's physicality and the Blazers' missed shots changed the game.

“We are disappointed because we made a mistake on our part,” Ayton said. “I felt like we played hard as hell. I felt like we really did our best by doing what the coaches asked of us.”

JERAMI GRANT FIGHTS

The forward, who scored 62 points in two games against the Pelicans over the weekend, made just three of 12 shots for seven points against the Kings. However, he had a season-high eight rebounds.

HENDERSON FROM THE BENCH

Henderson had a solid game, shooting 5 of 12 from the field and producing five assists and four rebounds. He helped keep the Blazers in the game in the first half. However, he also committed five fouls and had four turnovers.

WALTON HONOR

The Kings dedicated the victory to Bill Walton, the Blazers great who passed away earlier this year. Walton worked as a part-time color commentator for the Kings from 2010 to 2012. His son Luke Walton was the Kings' coach from 2019-21.

Next

The Blazers end their two-game trip with a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday at the LA Clippers (2-1).