Sacramento watched the veteran carry the scoring load despite the loss to Portland on Saturday night.
The Sacramento Kings put the ball in the hands of one of their veterans Saturday night to handle the scoring.
But this time names like Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, or Zach LaVine took a backseat in carrying the points load. Dennis Schroeder took on the initiative against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The German hooper, who settled for bench duty via Doug Christie, exploded with a team-high 21 points in 31 minutes. But Sacramento took another loss to the Western Conference rival -- this time falling 98-93.
The outcome became far different from the climactic overtime loss on Thursday inside the Moda Center -- with the Blazers escaping that one 134-133. DeRozan put Sacramento on his back to drop 33 points nearly 48 hours ago.
Precious Achiuwa this time scored the early baskets for the Kings off free throws. But Portland at one point led 15-2 before DeRozan nailed a 15-foot turnaround jumper.
Schroder didn't start his scoring until the 1:30 mark -- starting with a seven-foot basket and then following that by banking a 23-foot jumper. The latter shot cut the Portland lead to 26-24.
Kings reporter for KCRA News Sean Cunningham revealed Schroder hit a new career milestone: His 12,000th career basket. This despite the 32-year-old getting roughed up physically in the paint.
Schroder, however, got called with one technical foul -- drawing a detested response from his head coach Christie.
Still, Sacramento hit a new low...hitting 6-22 overall and now planted at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Kings reporter for Sactown 1140 AM revealed what the Kings are now on pace for: An 18-64 finish.
That record puts Sacramento at risk for finishing with the league's worst record. Plus further increases the Kings' chances at landing the top overall pick in the NBA Lottery Draft. Sacramento has never landed the No. 1 pick since 1989 -- when the team drafted Pervis Ellison out of Louisville. The Kings eventually traded him after one season.
Sacramento's biggest lead was just one point whereas Portland led by 13. Portland committed 20 turnovers but Sacramento lost the ball 18 times. The Kings managed to outrebound the Blazers 49-46. Sacramento, overall, created a far different defensive effort from Thursday night that included six total block shots. Dylan Cardwell swatted five of those.
Schroder was the only Kings player to surpass the 20-point mark. DeRozan and Keegan Murray ended with 15 points. Maxime Raynaud finished second in scoring with 17 points.