Kings 111, Trail Blazers 98: It’s Finally Beam Season

Now that’s more like it.

The Kings finally got into the win column for the 2024-25 season, beating the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 111 to 98.  De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 24 points, while DeMar DeRozan chipped in 23 and Domantas Sabonis had a patented 16 points, 13 rebound and 7 assist game.

This was a rough game to watch aesthetically, particularly in the first half when neither team was really in a rhythm and both teams spent what felt like an eternity at the line.  The Kings and Blazers combined for 34 free throw attempts in the first half alone, with 29 fouls being committed.  The Kings shot just 38.5% from the field in that first half and Portland was even worse at 15 of 42.  The slow pace and inept shooting from both teams kept it a close game for much of the first half, but the Kings managed to build a little separation towards the end of the quarter, with DeRozan hitting a nice midrange jumper at the buzzer after creating some separation to give the Kings an eight point lead heading into the break.

The third quarter started a bit sloppy, with the Blazers cutting it all the way to two points with 7:26 left on a Jerami Grant three pointer.  De’Aaron Fox responded with a quick three of his own, and that set off Sacramento’s best run of the game as they would go on a 12-0 run to open up a 14 point lead.  After Portland cut the lead back to single digits with 2:23 to play on a Scoot Henderson layup, the Kings went on another mini-run, making three straight triples to extend the lead to 19.  By the end of the quarter, the Kings had managed to build an 18 point lead.

Sacramento managed to get the lead up to as much as 26 with 9 minutes to go in the game after Trey Lyles hit a three, his first and only bucket of the game.  The Kings should have been able to coast from there and take it easy, but of course the Kings never make anything easy.  Portland was determined to fight on, and some full court pressure as well as a zone defense threw the Kings off for a while and they went ice cold. Meanwhile the Blazers attacked on the other end.  Over the next 4 minutes, the Blazers would score 13 unanswered points before the Kings finally managed to break the 100 point mark on a nice driving layup by De’Aaron Fox.  A few plays later, DeMar DeRozan essentially iced the game with a midrange turnaround that put the Kings up by 17.

It wasn’t a perfect game by the Kings by any means, but it was exactly what the doctor ordered after two frustrating losses to start the season that both easily felt like they could have been wins.  Mike Brown’s rotation, which was under much scrutiny after the first two games, especially after Keon Ellis didn’t get a single minute against the Lakers, was much more reasonable tonight, and no Kings player played more than 35 minutes.  After a slow shooting start to the game, the Kings finished the game shooting 45.7% from the field and 40% from three.  They also hit 23 of their 25 free throws.  DeRozan alone was 9 of 10, but Sabonis and Fox, both players who have struggled at the line in the past, combined to go 9-10 themselves.

Kevin Huerter looked to be back in form tonight, scoring 18 points, including 4 of 9 from distance, while also dishing out 4 assists.  His defense was also very active, leading to some solid deflections and he finished the game with 3 blocks, tying a career-high.  This version of Kevin Huerter looked much more like the confident shooter we saw in his first season with the Kings and if he can stay that way, that will be a huge boon for this team.

The Kings also managed to hold Portland to just 4 of 22 from distance, a nice change of pace after allowing both the Timberwolves and Lakers to shoot 40+% from distance against us.  That ties the least amount of threes made by an opponent in Golden 1 Center history.

The Kings play their own back to back tomorrow night in Utah, where they start a four game road trip.

Random Observations:

• The Kings definitely have some size issues.  Portland got 12 offensive rebounds, and that led to 19 second chance points for the Blazers.  There’s not really much the Kings can do about this either, this is just the way the roster is constructed right now.  Portland also dominated the interior, scoring 52 points in the paint compared to just 28 for the Kings.
• Keegan Murray had a rough shooting night, scoring just 6 points on 2-9 from the field, but I thought he did a tremendous job limiting Jerami Grant on the other end.  Grant had been averaging 26 points a game over the first three games of the season for Portland, but Keegan held him to just 7 points on 3 of 12 shooting.  Offensively he also showcased an improved midrange game, with both of his buckets coming off midrange turnarounds over a smaller defender.
• Domantas Sabonis’ three point shot might just be for real.  This is now the third straight game that Sabonis has hit a three, and he’s 5 of 8 on the season.  Now, I don’t think he’s going to be shooting 60+% from distance all year, but he definitely should continue shooting at least a few a game if he’s going to be hitting them consistently.  The best part about his shot is that he’s confident in taking them and is going up quicker and with less hesitation than we’ve seen in the past.  His Free Throw stroke is also looking improved, and so far he’s shooting 78.2% from the stripe, which would be by far a career best.
• The Kings definitely seem to struggle quite a bit in the non-Sabonis minutes. Len just doesn’t offer the same offensive capabilities at all, and going with Lyles at center makes the team super small.  Lyles himself is struggling to get back into a rhythm, so it was nice to see him hit that three tonight.
• De’Aaron Fox had the quietest 24 points I’ve seen from him.  I think he is the one who has felt DeRozan’s impact the most, which makes sense since they both need the ball in their hands.  I think they’re both still feeling each other out, but if we’re still going to get them both scoring 20+ while they’re in that process, that’s nice. Also, Fox reached 10,000+ points scored in his career, becoming the 5th player in franchise history to do so, and just the second in the Sacramento-era behind Mitch Richmond.
• Dougie McBuckets came in garbage time and hit a couple quick threes in a row.  I didn’t like his insertion into the lineup against the Timberwolves in that fourth quarter, but I wouldn’t mind giving him spot minutes here and there every now and again.
• Keon definitely seems to have a shorter leash than he did last year, but I also get why Brown views Huerter as a better option in the starting lineup right now.  Huerter is much more willing and able to move off the ball and take threes, whereas Keon is much more hesitant, even when he has an open look.  Keon’s only make of the night was a nice corner three off a quick dish from Jordan McLaughlin, but I think he’s going to need to be a bit more aggressive in looking for his shot and moving if he wants more minutes.
• The Blazers are long. That could be a fun team when they get some of their firepower back, particularly Shaedon Sharpe, who I’m still very high on.