De’Aaron Fox says Kings ‘gave it away’ in season-opening loss to Portland Trail Blazers
The autumn air outside Golden 1 Center crackled with excitement as a sellout crowd of 17,611 made its way into the arena to watch the Kings play their season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
The anticipation had been building for weeks as the Kings went undefeated in preseason play under first-year coach Mike Brown, but the mood changed after they squandered a late lead in a 115-108 loss to the Blazers.
De’Aaron Fox posted 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while making 12 of 21 field-goal attempts and 5 of 9 from 3-point range, but he also committed eight of his team’s 16 turnovers. That was too much to overcome against the Blazers, who outscored the Kings 16-4 over the final 4:36.
“I think we gave it away,” Fox said. “We had silly turnovers. I had a lot of turnovers. … I just think we were sloppy offensively.”
Brown said he could feel the energy inside the arena with a booming “DE-FENSE” chant on Portland’s opening possession.
“It was electric out there,” Brown said. “We have to take our hat off to the fans. The fans were unbelievable. They did their part tonight.”
Kevin Huerter scored 23 points in his first official game for the Kings (0-1), who enter the season with heightened expectations as they seek to end their NBA-record 16-year playoff drought. Huerter, who was questionable going into the game due to left ankle soreness, made 8 of 12 from the field and 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Terence Davis came off the bench to finish with 14 points and five rebounds. Domantas Sabonis was relatively quiet with 13 points, four rebounds and five assists with two costly turnovers in the final 1:38.
Jerami Grant had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers (1-0), who are expected to compete with the Kings for one of the final play-in spots in the Western Conference. Anfernee Simons scored 22 points. Damian Lillard had 20 points and eight assists.
Brown felt the physicality of the game affected the Kings, who rolled to a 126-94 victory over the Blazers in preseason play. The Kings committed 25 fouls and sent Portland to the free-throw line 33 times.
“The lights are on, the game is more physical,” Brown said. “It’s fast-paced. Guys are playing extended minutes, so they’ve got to dig down deeper to play the right way on the floor, and we paid the price for it.”
Rare air
Fox became the sixth player in the Sacramento era to score 30 points or more in a season opener, according to the team’s communications staff.
Fox became just the fourth player in franchise history to post at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in a season opener. He was the first to accomplish that feat since Oscar Robertson, who had 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 103-99 win over the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 15, 1966.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups praised Fox for his performance.
“They played fast,” Billups said. “Fox was knocking his 3s down. We were willing to live with that early on and he made us pay. He really did.”
‘Let that thing fly’
Brown believes in his shooters and wants the Kings to attempt 40 3-pointers a game, a huge number that would have ranked third in the NBA last season, just behind the Golden State Warriors. The Kings reached that mark against the Blazers, making 17 of 44 (.386).
Fox and Huerter combined for 11 of Sacramento’s 17 3-point goals. Davis, Malik Monk and Trey Lyles had two 3-pointers apiece. Harrison Barnes, who had nine points, eight rebounds and four assists, went 0 of 2 from 3-point range. KZ Okpala (0-1), Sabonis (0-1) and Davion Mitchell (0-5) failed to connect from long distance, and rookie Keegan Murray didn’t play, so there could be even bigger 3-point barrages in Sacramento’s future.
Missing Murray
Murray cleared NBA health and safety protocols Wednesday morning, but he was ruled out against the Blazers under a return-to-competition conditioning program.
Murray hopes to make his NBA debut against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at Golden 1 Center. Kings coach Mike Brown said general manager Monte McNair, the team’s medical staff, Murray and the coaching staff will work together to make that decision.
“Monte’s group has to OK it,” Brown said. “The doctors have to OK it. The medical team has to OK it. We want the player, obviously, involved in the process. At the end of the day, for me, once all that stuff is done, I’d like to have him have a practice or two under his belt.”
Prime time
The Kings picked up another nationally televised game Wednesday when TNT added their Nov. 15 home game against the Brooklyn Nets. The Kings will also appear on national television when they play host to the Houston Rockets on Jan. 11 on ESPN.
Sacramento will play four games on NBA TV – all at home – against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 28, Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 23, New Orleans Pelicans on March 6 and Boston Celtics on March 21.
Bucks for Buckets
One lucky fan walked away with $10,000 after winning the “Bucks for Buckets” contest during a second-quarter timeout. Dustin Rose made a layup, a free throw and a halfcourt shot in the allotted time to claim the prize.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 11:28 PM.
