The Sacramento Kings thought they were robbed on the road Thursday when a questionable call resulted in a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The same two teams met again Saturday night in Sacramento and there was nothing controversial about this one.
Deni Avdija had 24 points, six rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Blazers to a 98-93 victory over the Kings before an announced crowd of 15,963 at Golden 1 Center.
Shaedon Sharpe finished with 23 points for the Blazers (12-16) after throwing down a soaring dunk in the fourth quarter. Toumani Camara added 15 points while Donovan Clingan recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 21 points for the Kings (6-22), who have the worst record in the Western Conference after losing five in a row and nine of their last 10.
Rookie center Maxime Raynaud posted 17 points and 12 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan and Keegan Murray scored 15 points apiece.
Rookie first-round-draft pick Nique Clifford added 12 points and five assists. Undrafted rookie center Dylan Cardwell provided energy, length and athleticism with eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
With Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis still sidelined due to injuries, Kings coach Doug Christie chose for the second game in a row to start Russell Westbrook and DeRozan in the backcourt with Murray at small forward, Precious Achiuwa at power forward and Raynaud at center.
Malik Monk, the runner-up for the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year award, was not part of the regular rotation for the second consecutive game.
Halftime report
Sacramento went scoreless over the first two minutes before getting on the board with a pair of free throws from Achiuwa. The Kings went 0 of 9 from the field and trailed 15-2 before DeRozan made their first field goal with 7:17 to play in the opening period, sparking a 9-2 run for Sacramento.
The Kings made 11 of their last 12 shots while outscoring the Blazers 24-13 to end the first quarter. They trailed by two at the end of the first and tied the game on a basket by Raynaud with 7:33 to play in the second.
The Blazers led 47-44 at the halftime break. The Kings shot 46.2% from the field while holding the Blazers to 39.5%, but Portland made 6 of 16 from 3-point range and 11 of 16 at the free throw line while Sacramento went 3 of 11 from beyond the arc and 5 of 8 at the foul line.
Second half summary
The Kings got within two on a three-point play by Murray early in the second half, but the Blazers responded with a 7-0 run to take a 56-47 lead on a basket by Sharpe.
Portland went up by 12 on a 3-pointer by Clingan. Sacramento came back to cut the deficit to one on a basket by Schroder late in the third quarter. The Blazers led 72-69 going into the fourth.
The Kings took their first lead of the game on a basket by Raynaud with 10:10 remaining. The Blazers reestablished an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Sacramento battled back once more to get within one on a 3-pointer by Schroder with 4:36 remaining.
The Kings had a couple of opportunities to regain the lead in the final minutes, but they couldn’t get the buckets they needed.
Up next
The Kings will be back in action Sunday when they face the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back.
This is the fourth game of a six-game road trip for the Rockets (17-8), who will also be on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
The Rockets beat the Kings 121-95 on Dec. 3 in Houston. Alperen Sengun had 28 points and 10 rebounds in that contest. Kevin Durant had 24 points and eight assists.