Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, left, passes the ball around Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell, center, and forward Domantas Sabonis, right, during the first half in Portland on Thu Mar 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

Another Blowout for Sacramento Over Portland 138-114

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (47-30) took on the Portland Trail Blazers (32-45) at Moda Center amid rainy skies. Portland came away losing their fifth straight game as the Kings took two games from the Kings 138-114. The Kings came into this game after having secured a playoff berth ending the horrible post season slump they have endured since 2006.

Sacramento entered the game with a full strength starting roster. They will need to defend the three but should be playing pretty loose with their playoff future determined. The Kings were getting some great looks in the first quarter but were not coming away with a lot of baskets from beyond the arc. They did lead with under two minutes left in the quarter by a handful of points but finished the first 12 minutes with a 36-27 advantage.

Portland hung around for most of the second quarter until the final minutes. By halftime the Kings led 71-59 and Kevin Huerter really began to heat up with 14 points after the first two quarters. He was four of five from downtown and five of six from the field. Four starters for the Kings had double digits and Malik Monk had ten off the bench. The Kings had 21 points off the bench in total. This was the largest lead of the game for Sacramento.

The Kings continued to extend their lead in the third quarter pushing the lead to 92-74 with four minutes left in the quarter. Despite the youth on the Portland team they were having a great deal of success from beyond the arc but could not handle the experience and ball movement that the Kings excel in. After three quarters that Kings had a confortable 104-89 lead.

The Kings got some high powered offense in the fourth quarter, With two minutes left in the game Sacramento had a 132-108 lead closing out this game.

The Kings exploded offensively with Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk all finishing with 20 points apiece. Every starter in this game had double digits and the bench had 53 points collectively which will be vitally important in the playoffs.

Sunday afternoon the Kings will play the San Antonio Spurs at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM.