By George Devine, Sr.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Kings in Portland, as the home team’s Dorell Wright hit a 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds to play and Sacramento’s Ray McCallum then missed one. Ironically, it was the only field goal Wright would score all evening, but the only one he would need.

After missing the playoffs for the last two years, the Trailblazers made it with a win over New Orleans on Sunday, finishing fifth in the Western Conference. Their leading scorer was LaMarcus Aldridge, with 22 points and 8 rebounds. The Kings will watch the playoffs on TV.

Damian Lillard scored 19 points and had 10 valuable assists, in addition to 5 rebounds. Wesley Matthews also scored 19. Robin Lopez had 13 points and 9 rebounds, one of which was on defense when he picked up McCallum’s missed trey and held it until the game ended.

For Sacramento, DeMarcus Cousins led with 30 points; he had a dozen boards. McCallum was next with 23 and contributed 8 assists. Rudy Gay, who typically scores 20 points, was sidelined due to injury and had he played the outcome could have been different.

The Kings were feisty: they trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but tied the Blazers at 84 in the fourth quarter. Later, Travis Outlaw — who scored only 5 points — tied it again with a jump shot and then Cousins made it 97-95 with a minute and a half left; it was the Kings’ first lead and a short-lived one.