Sacramento Kings’ injury woes keep getting worse in NBA Cup loss to Portland Trail Blazers
The Sacramento Kings have been hit hard by injuries over the first 10 weeks of the season.
They got hit again when Kevin Huerter went down with an ankle injury in Friday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Adding insult to injury, Deandre Ayton scored 26 points to lead the Blazers to a 115-106 victory over the Kings in an NBA Cup in-season tournament game at Moda Center in Portland.
The Kings have lost five of six and eight of their last 12 to fall to 12th in the Western Conference. Kings coach Mike Brown didn’t mince words after the game.
“I’m extremely disappointed in our guys’ ability to mentally come into a game like this and lock in,” Brown told reporters in Portland.
“We had 14 turnovers in the first half and at least three-fourths of them were unforced. Just throwing the ball all over the place, dribbling it off our foot. We were soft and careless with the basketball. To come on the road, no matter who’s injured, who’s not injured, and have 20 turnovers when three-fourths of them were probably unforced, just unacceptable.”
Anfernee Simons had 21 points and nine assists for the Blazers (8-12). Deni Avdija added 20 points and nine rebounds.
Malik Monk came off the bench to score 29 points with nine assists for the Kings (9-11). De’Aaron Fox had 22 points. Domantas Sabonis recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists while Keegan Murray was held to three points on 1-of-9 shooting.
The Blazers shot 51.1% from the field while holding the Kings to 44.9%. Portland had a 64-34 advantage on points in the paint, a 19-12 advantage in second-chance points and a 24-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Kings were shorthanded again with DeMar DeRozan (back) and Trey Lyles (calf) sidelined due to injuries. Sacramento’s injury woes worsened when Huerter left the game after rolling his right ankle early in the second quarter.
Brown deployed the same starting lineup he used in Wednesday’s 115-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves with Fox, Keon Ellis, Jae Crowder, Keegan Murray and Sabonis.
The Kings led 30-25 after shooting 52.2% and going 5 of 11 from 3-point range in the first quarter. Sabonis had the hot hand early, scoring 14 points while going 6 of 7 from the field and 2 of 2 from long distance.
Portland staged an 11-2 run to take a 38-35 lead in the second quarter. The Kings briefly reclaimed the lead before the Blazers responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 49-41. Sacramento trailed 54-50 after shooting 43.6% from the field, 31.6% from 3-point range and 62.5% at the free-throw line in the first half.
The Blazers went up by 17 after outscoring the Kings 18-5 to start the second half. They were ahead 82-72 at the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 19 in the fourth.
“A telltale sign of this game tonight: There were 10 50-50 balls,” Brown said. “Ten loose balls. Ten of them. We got one of them and it came with less than five minutes to go.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 9:42 PM.
