Sabonis’ Triple-Double, Acuff’s 33 Not Enough in Kings Loss

Darius Acuff Jr. turned in his best game yet, but it wasn’t enough as the Sacramento Kings fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 128-120 on Friday in Sacramento. 

Acuff scored 33 points on 10-of-26 shooting, including a pair of baskets from the three-point line, and an 11-of-12 clip from the free-throw line. While he acknowledged his performance as “good”, losing rendered his statistical achievements irrelevant. 

“Ain’t nothing I want more than a win,” Acuff said in his postgame press conference. “So everything I do is fine, but if we don’t get the win, it really don’t matter.”

Domantas Sabonis recorded a triple-double with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for the Kings. Zach LaVine added 22 points on a 6-of-15 clip from the field including 3-of-9 from the free-throw line.

“He means a lot because there’s a spirit in Domas that you can feel when he’s playing,” Kings head coach Doug Christie said of Sabonis. “He wants to play fast. He wants to make decisions.”

Precious Achiuwa scored 14 points off the bench, while Keegan Murray added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Kings. 

The Kings shot 46% from the field (42-of-91) and 26% from beyond the arc (8-of-31). The Kings made 28-of-30 free throws, which is six more than the Trail Blazers with the same number of attempts.

The Trail Blazers made four more field goals than Sacramento and six more three-pointers. Deni Avdija led the squad with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists. The duo of Toumani Camara and Damian Lillard each scored 19, while Scoot Henderson added 15 points off the bench. Donovan Clingan contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Robert Williams III scored 13 points off the bench on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting while grabbing six rebounds in 18 minutes. Jrue Holiday chipped in 12 points and eight assists.

The Kings led by 12 points in the first quarter and went into halftime up 64-59. A 44-26 third quarter evaporated Sacramento’s lead and the Kings found themselves behind the Trail Blazers. 

Portland busted through the gate in the third quarter with a 15-0 run. The Trail Blazers made eight three-pointers to create separation with the Kings in the third quarter. A jump shot by Avdija capped the third quarter with Portland leading 103-90. 

A three-pointer by Sabonis pulled the Kings within three points, trailing 121-118 with 3:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. They couldn’t close the gap and a tip shot and a pair of free throws by Donovan Clingan secured the win for the Trail Blazers. 

The Kings went 0-5 through the preseason and have opened the regular season with back-to-back losses. The Kings will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

The 2-0 Trail Blazers will travel to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.