Deni Avdija made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to cap a 35-point outing and give the Portland Trail Blazers a wild 134-133 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 33 points in overtime for the Kings, and he knocked down a turnaround jumper with 4.4 seconds left to give Sacramento its only lead of the extra session.
Avdija was then fouled by Russell Westbrook and made the free throws to save the Trail Blazers, who blew a 15-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation.
Shaedon Sharpe added 26 points, Jerami Grant contributed 20 points and nine rebounds and Donovan Clingan had 19 points and eight boards for Portland, which has won two in a row. Toumani Camara added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out.
Rookie Maxime Raynaud established career bests of 29 points and 11 rebounds and Westbrook added 20 points and 10 assists for the Kings, who lost their fourth straight game and their 21st of 27 this season. Keegan Murray scored 17 points for Sacramento.
Keon Ellis’ last-ditch halfcourt shot was off the mark for the Kings.
DeRozan buried a trey with 7.8 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 115.
Portland scored the first five points of overtime and later led 125-119 on Kris Murray’s three-point play with 2:53 remaining.
The Kings pulled within three when DeRozan buried a trey with 23.4 seconds left. He added two free throws with 17.4 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 132-131.
Portland used a 21-4 run to break open a tight game and take an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter. Grant had a dunk and a 3-pointer to cap it with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Sacramento was later down by 15 with under two minutes remaining before scoring 14 straight points and 17 of 19 to force overtime.
Westbrook sank a layup to pull the Kings within 113-110 with 21.4 seconds to go. He was fouled with 15 seconds remaining and hit both free throws to make it a one-point margin.
Avdija and Clingan each split two free throws to give Portland a three-point edge with 12.4 seconds left before DeRozan’s tying trey.
Portland connected on 47.6% of its shots, including 15 of 45 (33.3%) from 3-point range.
The Kings made 51.1% of their attempts and were 6 of 19 (31.6%) from behind the arc.
Sharpe scored 20 points in the half as Portland led 63-60 at the break. Raynaud had 14 first-half points.
The Kings were ahead 83-82 entering the fourth quarter.
More Sacramento Kings coverage
As trade season begins around the NBA, it’s clear that the stumbling Sacramento Kings will be active in discussions with several teams in efforts to turn over a roster that is currently well under the .500 mark.
The Athletic‘s Sam Amick joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Thursday to share his intel on where things stand around the league, dive into the discussion of NBA expansion, and highlight the value of Kings guard Keon Ellis, who is “popular” in trade discussions.
Read More:
Sam Amick: Keon Ellis is ‘a very popular player’ in trade talks
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, December 18th – @ Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 20th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, December 21st – vs. Houston Rockets – 7:00 PM PT
Tuesday, December 23rd vs. Detroit Pistons – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 27th – vs. Dallas Mavericks – 2:00 PM PT
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