SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Deni Avdija missed two shots all night, and Damian Lillard did most of his scoring after halftime. Avdija scored a season-high 34 points on 11-of-13 shooting, Lillard added 29, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 120-107 on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
Avdija went 9-of-9 at the free-throw line, and Lillard went 11-of-11 while scoring 22 of his points after halftime. Portland made 29 of 31 free throws to Sacramento’s 18 of 23.
The Trail Blazers opened a six-game road trip with their third straight win and improved to 9-3 and 1-1 in West Group C of the NBA Cup. Their only road loss in seven tries came against the Lakers in their Cup opener. Sacramento lost its fifth straight game and fell to 1-11, 0-7 at home, and 0-2 in the group.
Avdija called it a trap game afterward and said Portland needed to stay focused, Blazers On SI reported.
Damian Lillard Takes Over After Halftime
Sacramento went on an 8-0 run for an early 10-5 lead and last led at 18-16. Portland led 34-25 after one quarter. The Trail Blazers finished with 17 turnovers, six of them by Jrue Holiday, and the Kings scored 20 points off them. Lillard’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the half put Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori’s team up 64-53.
“I think that first half a little bit, the turnover bug got us again early in the game,” Nori said.
Lillard went to work in the third quarter. He scored 16 points in the period, making three 3-pointers, including a step-back over rookie Darius Acuff Jr., and all seven of his free throws. Portland led 93-78 after three, and Jayson Kent’s 3-pointer early in the fourth made it 98-78.
Deni Avdija Answers Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff gave Sacramento one more push. The rookie stole an Avdija pass, took the ball from Lillard for a breakaway dunk, and scored 10 points in 85 seconds. His pull-up 3-pointer with 7:36 left cut the lead to 105-96.
Avdija answered on the next possession with a 27-foot pull-up 3-pointer, then scored on a drive after a Toumani Camara steal. He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter without missing a shot, and Lillard’s 3-pointer with 5:34 left made it 113-98. Nori said his team started making the game harder on itself once it went up 20, and the Trail Blazers had to fight their way back to a 13-point margin.
De’Andre Hunter led Sacramento with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Camara spent much of the night on Acuff, who finished with 17 points and 6 assists on 6-of-19 shooting and attempted only two free throws. Nori singled out that defense afterward.
Camara also scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting, and Donovan Clingan had 13 points and 11 rebounds while playing through foul trouble. Portland was plus-26 in Robert Williams III’s 17 minutes. The Trail Blazers played without Ja Morant (left hamstring strain) and Shaedon Sharpe (right meniscus surgery).
Sacramento hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday at 8 p.m. CT. Portland plays back-to-back games at the Minnesota Timberwolves, starting Monday at 7 p.m. CT.
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