What went wrong in Sacramento Kings’ ugly preseason loss to the Portland Trail Blazers?
Kings coach Mike Brown planned to let his starters finish the fourth quarter of Sunday’s preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers, but it was already over.
The Kings committed 27 turnovers and trailed by as many as 33 points in a 105-85 loss before a matinee crowd of 14,788 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Malik Monk returned and Jordan McLaughlin made his Kings debut, but Sacramento couldn’t summon enough energy to compete with a Portland team that was missing Shaedon Sharpe (shoulder), Anfernee Simons (ankle), Matisse Thybulle (knee) and Robert Williams III (hamstring).
“Our guys didn’t do a good job of coming to play today,” Brown said.
Alex Len came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points for the Kings (0-3). De’Aaron Fox and Keon Ellis had 10 points apiece. Domantas Sabonis had nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists. DeMar DeRozan was held to eight points on 4-of-10 shooting.
Monk returned after leaving the team for a few days due to personal reasons. Monk scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting in his first three minutes of work, but he finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting, going 0 of 5 from 3-point range.
Scoot Henderson had 17 points and seven assists to lead six players who scored in double figures for the Blazers (1-1). Toumani Camara scored 13 points. Deandre Ayton had 11 points and eight rebounds while Donovan Clingan recorded a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Blazers scored 33 points off of Sacramento’s turnovers.
“Their ball pressure and their physicality sped us up,” Brown said. “Twenty-seven (turnovers) for a game and 33 points (off turnovers), that might be a record for us. I don’t know, but we can’t turn the ball over the way we did tonight.”
The Blazers only shot 42.5% from the field and 35.9% from 3-point range, but the Kings were even worse, shooting 41.7% from the field and 17.9% from long distance. The Kings committed 26 fouls and sent the Blazers to the free-throw line 26 games.
“I think we just got outworked, both offensively and defensively,” Fox said.
The Kings were sloppy from the start with nine turnovers in the opening period, but they led 27-18 after going 12 of 17 (.706) from the field and 3 of 6 (.500) from 3-point range to begin the game. The Blazers cut the deficit to two after closing out the first quarter with a 7-0 run and a 13-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Blazers went up 40-36 midway through the second period. They took a 54-49 lead on three-point play by Ayton and carried a 60-51 lead into the locker room at the halftime break. The Kings shot 52.4% while outscoring Portland 21-6 in fastbreak points, but the Blazers had a 13-5 advantage in second-chance points and a 22-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Fox, Monk and Sabonis each accounted for three of Sacramento’s 14 turnovers in the first half. Fox was also whistled for five fouls in the opening half.
Asked about the team’s turnovers, Fox said: “Some we had offensive fouls. Some were just unforced efforts. They a couple of them that were forced where it was their pressure, but a majority of them were making lackadaisical passes and things of that nature.”
The Blazers went up by 14 early in the second half and stretched the lead to 18 on a 3-pointer by Henderson. They led by 24 in the third quarter and went up by as many as 33 in the fourth.
“I wanted to play our starters at the end of the game tonight so that they can feel what it is like to play in a whole game, but they did not work with me in that situation to be able to play,” Brown said. “We were down 20, so I’m not going to risk that in a preseason game.”
McLaughlin makes Kings debut
McLaughlin made his preseason debut for the Kings on Sunday after missing training camp and the first two preseason games due to a grade 2 right ankle sprain. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
“It felt good to be out there,” McLaughlin said. “I hate being out. I’m sure everybody does, but for me to get out there, get a little run with the guys and try to find my way with this team, it felt good. I think I’ll be able to help this team out in a lot of different ways.”
McLaughlin checked in for the first time with 5:41 to play in the first period and made an immediate impact. The defensive-minded guard got a stop on Henderson at one end of the floor and then made a layup at the other end.
The Kings signed McLaughlin to a one-year, $2.4 million contract in July. The 28-year-old backup point guard spent his first five seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.0 steals while shooting 44.6% from the field and 36.9% from 3-point range.
Brown expects McLaughlin to play a key role as a reserve once he learns Sacramento’s system.
“It’s going to take a little time, but just being around him a little bit, he seems like he has a really good feel for the game of basketball, which carries over to what we’re trying to do on both ends of the floor,” Brown said. “He was in Minnesota for five or six years, and they do a great job over there, so he seems like he has a pretty good feel.”
Ramping up
Kings guard Kevin Huerter has yet to suit up for a preseason game, but he is nearing a return after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Huerter was cleared for full-contact basketball activities on Friday. He was seen on the court going through a pregame workout about 90 minutes before Sunday’s game.
Huerter will progress through the final stages of return-to-play protocol before he is cleared to play. It remains to be seen whether he will be ready for the season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 24.
Up next
The Kings will play their last two preseason games on the road. They will face the Utah Jazz on Tuesday at Delta Center before playing the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday at Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new $2 billion arena in Inglewood.
Upcoming preseason schedule
Oct. 15 at Utah Jazz
Oct. 17 at Los Angeles Clippers
This story was originally published October 13, 2024 at 6:37 PM.
