Buddy Hield made five 3-pointers and scored 22 points off the bench to help the Sacramento Kings notch a 125-121 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
De’Aaron Fox scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half for Sacramento but drew two technical fouls and was ejected for arguing with 6:06 left in the game. The Kings also lost Harrison Barnes, who had 13 points before missing the final quarter due to a right foot injury.
Damian Lillard recorded 32 points and 10 assists for Portland, which fell to 1-8 on the road. Jusuf Nurkic scored a season-best 28 points and matched his season high of 17 rebounds and Norman Powell tallied 22 points for the Trail Blazers.
Sacramento was victorious in its second game under interim coach Alvin Gentry after dropping its first. Davion Mitchell scored 16 points, Alex Len and Maurice Harkless added 12 points apiece and Marvin Bagley III contributed 10 points and eight rebounds as the Kings improved to 3-7 at home.
Mitchell’s basket gave Sacramento a 118-113 advantage with 1:35 left. Lillard split two free throws 18 seconds later, but Bagley III buried a corner 3-pointer to give the Kings a 121-114 lead with 30.3 seconds to play and Hield added four free throws down the stretch.
Portland’s Robert Covington was ejected with 49 seconds left in the first half for a “hostile act.” Covington took off his face mask and threw it in the direction of an official.
Nassir Little added 16 points off the bench and CJ McCollum scored 13 for the Trail Blazers, who made 46.8 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 12 of 38 from 3-point range.
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Sacramento hit on 52.3 percent of its shots and was 12 of 33 from behind the arc.
Powell drained a corner 3-pointer just before time expired to give Portland a 71-69 halftime edge.
Nurkic had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Lillard added 17 points and seven assists in the half for the Trail Blazers. Fox had 19 points for Sacramento.
Damian Jones hit two free throws with 22.8 seconds left in the third quarter as Sacramento took a 93-92 lead into the final stanza.
–Field Level Media