Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic Lead Kings Past Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
The Sacramento Kings are starting to build momentum.
Sacramento is still just 4-6 overall but improved to 4-1 in its last five games with a 107-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at the Golden 1 Center. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield led the way with De’Aaron Fox sidelined by a sprained ankle.
As for the Trail Blazers, they are just 4-7 overall and 1-5 in their last six games as one of the biggest disappointments in the league in the early going.
Notable Player Stats
- SAC G Bogdan Bogdanovic: 25 points, 10 assists and four steals on 8-of-19 shooting
- SAC G Buddy Hield: 20 points and four rebounds on 7-of-21 shooting
- SAC F Nemanja Bjelica: 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on 8-of-14 shooting
- SAC F Richaun Holmes: 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on 5-of-6 shooting
- POR G Damian Lillard: 27 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals on 6-of-10 shooting
- POR G CJ McCollum: 24 points and five rebounds on 11-of-21 shooting
- POR C Hassan Whiteside: 17 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting
Kings Turn Toward Rare Strong Defensive Performance and Bogdanovic Without Fox
If Tuesday was a preview of what's to come, the Kings may survive without Fox.
Sacramento announced its point guard will be reevaluated in three-to-four weeks, which is a difficult blow for a team with a young core that so often relies on him to generate offense with his lightning-quick moves in the open floor and ability to kick to open shooters off penetration.
The defense took center stage without him.
The home team turned a three-point halftime deficit into a straightforward victory by pressuring ball-handlers, forcing 17 turnovers, swarming outside shots as Portland connected on just 26.7 percent of its triples and committing additional defenders to Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
That the Trail Blazers don't have the frontcourt players to consistently hurt the opposition made it easier for the Kings to focus so much on the guards. It also helped explain why a group that is just 26th in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com, was able to set the tone on that end.
It wasn't all defense, as a balanced scoring attack featuring five players in double figures helped make up for the absence of Fox. Hield fought past a slow start and found his scoring touch, while Bogdanovic attacked the rim, hit from the outside and facilitated when he drew additional defenders.
The Kings will need a team-wide effort on both ends to tread water without their point guard, and they received just that Tuesday.
Guards Can Only Do So Much for Trail Blazers
Frontcourt issues help explain why Portland has been so inconsistent in the early going.
Zach Collins, Jusuf Nurkic and Pau Gasol are all out with injuries, and Enes Kanter is no longer on the roster after providing a boost down the stretch last season. Hassan Whiteside is a talented piece, but Portland was outrebounded 46-40 and received a combined eight points from Skal Labissiere, Anthony Tolliver, Mario Hezonja and Moses Brown.
That puts all the pressure on the backcourt to keep the team in the Western Conference playoff picture until it is healthier. While few guard combos are better than Lillard and McCollum, it has proven to be too tall a task thus far—even for them.
Lillard and McCollum spearheaded a burst for Portland down the stretch, but the visitors were in too deep a hole due to a lackluster third quarter and not enough secondary support.
As a result, the Trail Blazers continued their recent downward spiral and fell further behind in the early standings.
What’s Next?
Portland hosts the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, while Sacramento is at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
