Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie made some bold moves in Thursday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Christie moved Keegan Murray to the small forward position and benched Malik Monk, but in the end those decisions were overshadowed by an incredible comeback that came up a little short.
The Kings stormed back from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime before suffering a 132-131 loss before a breathless crowd of 16,382 at Moda Center in Portland.
Deni Avdija scored 35 points for the Blazers (11-16), who held on to win after blowing a 15-point lead in the last two minutes of regulation. Avdija made two free throws to win the game after Kings guard Russell Westbrook was called for a questionable foul with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime.
“Our guys had an incredible compete level and fought their hearts out,” Christie said. “For a game … I don’t know. Anything I say, I’m going to get fined. I’ve got a lot to say, so I probably shouldn’t say nothing.”
Shaedon Sharpe scored 26 points for Portland. Jerami Grant had 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Donovan Clingan had 19 points and eight rebounds. Toumani Camara added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points to match his season high for the Kings (6-21), who have lost four in a row. Rookie center Maxime Raynaud had a career-high 29 points and 11 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook also recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. Keegan Murray had 17 points and four blocked shots.
With Zach LaVine out of the lineup due to an ankle injury, Christie elected to move DeRozan to shooting guard with Murray at small forward and Precious Achiuwa at power forward.
Christie didn’t stop there when it came to interesting lineup and rotation decisions. He also chose to bench Monk, who was runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2023-24.
A source with knowledge of the situation told The Sacramento Bee the Kings do not have a trade in the works involving Monk at this time. The choice to sit Monk was described as a coaching decision.
Halftime report
Both teams came out firing in a high-scoring first quarter that featured three ties and 13 lead changes. The Blazers made 10 of their first 15 field goal attempts. The Kings hit 10 of 16.
The Kings led 40-36 after going 17 of 27 (.630) from the field and 3 of 4 (.750) from 3-point range in the opening period. Murray scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Raynaud had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Sharpe poured in 15 points while going 6 of 7 overall and 3 of 4 from long distance for the Blazers.
Sacramento maintained a slight lead through much of the second quarter with Dennis Schroder leading a bench unit that included Keon Ellis, Nique Clifford, Dario Saric and Dylan Cardwell. Conspicuously absent from that group was Monk, who suddenly found himself out of the rotation after averaging 24.0 minutes over the first 26 games.
The Kings led by as many as eight in the second period before the Blazers came back to take a 58-56 lead on a 3-pointer by Toumani Camara with 3:04 to play in the first half. Portland carried a 63-60 lead into the halftime break. The Kings trailed despite posting a 21-16 rebounding advantage against a team that ranks no. 2 in the NBA in offensive rebounds and No. 8 in total rebounds.
Second-half summary
Sacramento reclaimed the lead after outscoring Portland 10-4 to start the second half. The Blazers came back to take a 76-73 lead on a basket by Clingan with 6:37 to play in the third quarter. The Kings led 83-82 going into the fourth.
Clingan hit a 3-pointer as part of a 13-2 run as Portland opened up a 95-85 lead with 7:29 remaining. The Blazers went up by 13 after Russell Westbrook was called for a flagrant foul on Camara, who made two free throws and then buried a 3-pointer moments later.
Portland went up by as many as 18 after Grant knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:05 to go. The Blazers still led by 15 with two minutes remaining, but the Kings staged an improbable 17-2 run over the last 1:53, sending the game to overtime after DeRozan hit a corner 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining.
Up next
The Kings will return to Sacramento to face the Blazers for the second time in 48 hours Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
That contest will mark the start of a four-game homestand for the Kings. They will play host to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 27.