Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge departed early due to injury but Kings were unable to capitalize, losing to the Blazers 98-94 at the Moda Center on Monday.
With the game tied at 89 with 1:42 to go, the Kings were outscored by Portland 9-5 led by six points from Damian Lillard to secure the victory.
Officiating loomed large after a questionable offensive foul call on DeMarcus Cousins - his fifth foul - with 3:08 remaining and the Kings up by one point. Cousins then fouled out with 1:42 to go with the game tied at 89.
The Kings also endured two reversals of possession calls and turnovers loomed large as Sacramento committed 23 blunder which Portland converted into 29 points.
The wild finish started after an official review of a ball deflected out of bounds. The officials reversed the call on the floor and awarded the ball to Portland. Damian Lillard scored off of an offensive rebound to give the Blazers a 91-89 lead with 1:20 to go.
Nicolas Batum then made two free throws to give the Blazers a 93-89 lead. Ben McLemore was then fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three from the charity stripe to cut the Portland lead to 93-92.
Lillard then sliced through the Kings defense for a slam dunk to put the Blazers up 95-92 with :34 seconds remaining in the game.
Rudy Gay then attacked the rim drawing a foul and draining two free throws to cut the Sacramento deficit to 95-94 with 31.8 seconds to go.
Lillard then was fouled driving to the hoop with 21.8 seconds to go and went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to put Portland up 96-94.
On the ensuing possession, Gay missed a jumper and Lillard was fouled with 8.6 seconds to go. Lillard went 1-for-2 from the free throw line to put Portland up 97-94.
Then Sacramento was awarded the ball after it was knocked out of bounds. However, under official review, it was ruled that Darren Collison was out of bounds with possession of the ball with 6.2 seconds to go.
The Blazers were awarded possession of the ball and Nicolas Batum was fouled with 2.4 seconds to go in the game. Batum made one of two free throws to make it 98-94, ending the scoring for the night with the victory belonging to Portland.
Portland suffered a blow when Aldridge suffered an apparent left hand injury after defending Cousins on a drive to the hoop by the Kings center late in the first quarter and exited with 10:26 remaining in the second quarter. X-rays on his hand after the game came back negative, according to the Blazers.
Sacramento (16-25) was led by Gay’s 26 game-high points while Cousins added 22 points along with 19 rebounds. Collison added 13 points and eight assists while Ben McLemore chipped in with 11 points.
Portland (31-11) was paced by Lillard with 22 points and Wesley Matthews added 17 points. Aldridge contributed 10 points before exiting due to injury.
Sacramento has now lost four straight games including dropping 10 of its last 15 games.
The Kings fall to 6-11 on the road on the season and after entertaining Brooklyn on Wednesday have five straight games on the road.
Jason Thompson played in his 500th career game on Monday and now ranks third all-time in games played in the Sacramento era.
The Blazers snapped their longest losing streak of the season at three games with the win.
STANDOUT PERFORMER:
Damian Lillard scored 22 points and had six critical points in crunch time.
TURNING POINT:
With the game tied at 89 with 1:42 to go, Portland outscored Sacramento 9-5 to secure the 98-94 victory.
INJURY REPORT:
Kings: C DeMarcus Cousins (right ankle sprain), F Rudy Gay (left shoulder strain and left knee capsule sprain) and F Omri Casspi (eye abrasion and left knee bone contusion) were probable and played. G Ramon Sessions (low back strain) was probable but did not play. F Carl Landry (right wrist sprain) was out and F Eric Moreland (left shoulder labral tear) is out for the season.
Blazers -- F Joel Freeland (right shoulder strain) and C Robin Lopez (right hand fracture) were out. LaMarcus Aldridge left the game with an apparent hand injury with 10:26 remaining in the second quarter. X-rays were negative and he will be evaluated further on Tuesday, according to the Blazers.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Kings return home to host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
Nominate your favorite All-Star Teacher today!
