The BreakdownGrind
Blazers grind past Kings from the line and the arc
Deni Avdija scored 34 on 11-of-13 shooting and Portland made 29 of 31 free throws in a 120-107 win at Sacramento.
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 120-107 on Friday in a game that was settled long before its last minutes. Branden Carlson's 24-foot three put Portland ahead for good at 21-18 in the 1st quarter. The Kings were last within five at 42-37 in the 2nd quarter and never got closer than six after it. The Blazers' lead reached 20 at 98-78 early in the 4th quarter. Deni Avdija led all scorers with 34. De'Andre Hunter scored 13 of his 24 for Sacramento in the 2nd quarter. Toumani Camara made 5 field goals in a row across the first two quarters and scored all 14 of his points before halftime.
| POR | Stat | SAC |
|---|---|---|
| 48.1 | FG% | 45.3 |
| 40.5 | 3PT% | 32.4 |
| 41 | Rebounds | 38 |
| 6 | Off. rebounds | 8 |
| 77 | FG attempts | 86 |
| 16 | Turnovers | 11 |
Portland lived at the line
Portland made 29 of 31 free throws. Sacramento made 18 of 23. Avdija was 9 for 9 from the line. Damian Lillard was 11 for 11. His trip for three free throws with 3:35 left in the 4th quarter made it 116-103. Lillard went 6 for 18 from the field, and 11 of his 29 points came at the line. Avdija missed only twice from the floor, going 11 for 13, with 7 makes in a row from the 3rd quarter into the 4th.
The 3-point line tilted to Portland
The Blazers shot 40.5% from three and made 17. The Kings shot 32.4% and made 11. Lillard hit 6 threes on 13 attempts, and Avdija hit 3 of 5. Lillard scored 16 in the 3rd quarter. Eight of them came as straight Portland points, the last putting the Blazers up 89-75. Inside the arc, the volume ran the other way: Sacramento made 28 twos to Portland's 20. Portland shot 57.1% there, Sacramento 53.8%.
Sacramento kept the ball better
The Kings had 29 assists and 11 turnovers. The Blazers had 21 assists and 16 turnovers, six of them by Jrue Holiday. Sacramento also had 10 steals to Portland's 6. Portland had 6 blocks, Sacramento 4.
The Kings outscored Portland 29-27 in the 4th quarter. Darius Acuff Jr. scored 10 straight Kings points in it, the last of them making it 105-96. Avdija's 12 straight Portland points, from 10:51 to 6:41 left, began before Acuff's and ended after them, at 110-96. Then the Blazers went 4:17 without a field goal, starting after Lillard's pull-up three with 5:34 left. Domantas Sabonis cut it to 113-103 with a 26-foot three. Donovan Clingan's reverse layup with 1:17 left ended the drought, and Holiday's layup with 0:19.4 left made it 120-107.
POR ahead above the line · SAC ahead below