Hot 3-point shooting helped the Sacramento Kings win the first four games of their current homestand, but they cooled off in Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Deni Avdija had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Blazers ended Sacramento’s four-game winning streak with a 117-110 victory before a crowd of 16,241 at Golden 1 Center.
“Our energy level didn’t match theirs,” Kings guard Malik Monk said. “They were on a back-to-back, so we should have played harder than them. That’s where we went wrong.”
Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points for the Blazers (22-22), who have 10 of their last 13 games. Donovan Clingan recorded a double-double while dominating the boards, finishing with 21 points and 17 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook and Monk scored 23 points apiece for the Kings (12-31). Zach LaVine scored 18 points. DeMar DeRozan added 14 while undrafted rookie Dylan Cardwell recorded his first double-double with a career-high 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Domantas Sabonis came off the bench for the second game in a row since returning from a knee injury. He finished with eight points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Kings were No. 1 in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 46.7% during their winning streak. They went 11 of 31 against the Blazers, shooting 35.5%.
Kings coach Doug Christie said Clingan’s presence in the paint might have affected the looks his team got from the 3-point line.
“Big guy was just in the lane the whole time,” Christie said. “Part of us generating those shots is our ability to collapse the defense, and if he’s just sitting there the whole time that can be difficult
There were six ties and seven lead changes in a closely contested first half until Portland staged a 13-2 run to open up a 10-point lead. The Blazers led 64-53 at the halftime break and went up by 14 early in the second half.
Portland led 93-82 at the end of the third quarter. The Kings got within five on a 3-pointer by Monk with 1:06 to play in the fourth quarter. They cut the deficit to four on a free throw by Westbrook with 18.1 seconds remaining, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Size matters
With Sabonis back in action, the Kings are experimenting with bigger lineups, sometimes playing two centers at the same time.
The early returns were impressive in Friday’s win over the Washington Wizards. Sabonis shared the floor with Cardwell as the Kings staged a 19-2 run to close out the first quarter.
Sabonis played with Cardwell and rookie Maxime Raynaud in Sunday’s game. One of the highlights of the night came when Raynaud passed to a cutting Sabonis for an emphatic dunk late in the third quarter.
Christie likes what he has seen from his two-big lineups.
“The one thing you do on both ends of the court is rebound, and I like to rebound,” Christie said. “I like to rebound with two hands. I like to be physical, and also the ability to protect the paint. The ability to, and we’re still working on that, but the ability for the pick-and-roll to happen, and a big is rolling to a big. There’s gravity in that.”
Westbrook’s 3-point shooting
Westbrook has accomplished many things in his Hall of Fame career, but the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles has never been known for his shooting prowess.
Westbrook is a career 30.8% 3-point shooter over 18 NBA seasons, but this season has been better than the rest. He went into Sunday’s game shooting a career-high 35.7% from beyond the arc.
Westbrook went 15 of 29 from 3-point range during Sacramento’s four-game winning streak. He went 3 of 6 in Sunday’s game.
Up next
The Kings will play host to the Miami Heat in the sixth game of a season-long seven-game homestand Tuesday at Golden 1 Center.
The Heat (22-20) is coming off a 122-120 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Miami will be on the second night of a back-to-back after visiting the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
The Heat is led by Norman Powell, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Powell is averaging 23.8 points per game. Herro averages 21.9 points per game. Adebayo is averaging 17.4 points and 9.6 rebounds.