The Portland Trail Blazers struggled to defend and were dominated in the paint in a 128-107 road loss to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
The Blazers (32-42) slipped further behind in the Western Conference play-in chase with the loss. Portland is now tied for 12th with the San Antonio Spurs (31-41).
The 10th-place Dallas Mavericks (36-38) won 101-92 at the Orlando Magic on Thursday, and the 11th-place Phoenix Suns (35-38) lost 132-102 at the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, putting Portland 3 1/2 games back of the Suns and four games back of the Mavericks for the final play-in spot.
Deni Avdija had 24 points for Portland, supplemented by Shaedon Sharpe with 22 and Anfernee Simons with 20.
The Kings (36-37) broke a four-game losing streak with the win, led by Zach LaVine with 29 points, Domantas Sabonis with 22 points and 19 rebounds, and DeMar DeRozan with 21 points and 10 assists.
Sacramento finished with a 60-32 advantage in points in the paint, shooting 64.9% from the field.
Avdija had 12 in the first quarter for Portland, but the Blazers were down 36-27 through one and were getting hammered in the paint. LaVine slashed through the lane at will and Sabonis set the tone on both ends for Sacramento.
Sacramento took a 68-50 lead into halftime, extending it to 100-82 by the end of the third thanks in large part to the playmaking of DeRozan and Sabonis. The Kings made nine straight shots near the end of the third quarter, with their shooting percentage soaring up to 67.9% entering the fourth.
Scoot Henderson left the game early in the fourth and went to the locker room, with no update immediately provided on the Blazers broadcast.
DeRozan controlled the pace for Sacramento throughout the fourth, eating away at the clock and finding both buckets and fouls in the midrange. Portland could not claw back into the game, continually dominated in the paint and on the fastbreak.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Blazers have a steeper hill to climb to reach the play-in, facing down four road games at Eastern Conference foes in the next week.
AVDIJA
Avdija continued his strong play of late, particularly from three-point range (4-7). In his previous eight games, Avdija shot 51% from three.
NEXT UP
The Blazers travel to the Big Apple to face the New York Knicks (45-27), with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m. PT on Sunday.
--Ryan Clarke covers theOregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to theDucks Confidential podcast or subscribe to theDucks Roundup newsletter.