Kings bully Blazers, now turn attention to play-in

Field Level Media|published: Sun 14th April, 18:14 2024

Apr 14, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Duop Reath (26) drives to the hoop next to Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) in the second quarter at the Golden 1 Center. credits: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

De'Aaron Fox scored 24 points in three quarters as the host Sacramento Kings cruised to a 121-82 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both teams.

After finishing with the third seed in the Western Conference last season — when they made the playoffs for the first time since 2006 — the Kings (46-36) will be the No. 9 seed this time around. Sacramento will host the Warriors in a play-in game on Tuesday.

Golden State beat the Kings in seven games in a first-round playoff series last year.

Fox made 10 of 14 shots from the floor in just 26 minutes of action, helping Sacramento take a commanding 99-58 lead into the final quarter.

Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 11 rebounds for his NBA-best 77th double-double, tying Moses Malone (1978-79) for the most in a single season since the ABA-NBA merger. Sabonis went 7-for-10 from the field and finished one assist shy of his 27th triple-double of 2023-24.

Harrison Barnes contributed 17 points, Keon Ellis chipped in 13 and Keegan Murray finished with 12 as the Kings won for the second time in their past seven games. Sacramento shot 49.4 percent overall and led by as many as 44.

Dalano Banton led the Trail Blazers with 17 points before being ejected for a flagrant 2 foul late in the fourth quarter. He went 6-for-26 from the field and missed all 15 of his 3-point tries, becoming the first player in NBA history to go 0-for-15 from behind the arc. Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez and Justin Anderson shared the previous mark of futility by going 0-for-12 from 3-point range.

Duop Reath added 14 points and Taze Moore contributed 12 as the Blazers shot a dreadful 31.6 percent from the floor and were 7 of 45 from behind the arc. Kris Murray pulled down 18 rebounds for Portland.

Portland (21-61) finished its worst season since 2005-06 by losing five games in a row and 15 of its final 17. The Trail Blazers played without rookie Scoot Henderson (hip) and Deandre Ayton (back).

Sacramento shot 61.1 percent in the opening quarter to grab a 30-18 advantage. The Kings opened their first 20-point lead when Trey Lyles sank a 3-pointer with 9:33 remaining in the second, and they held a 65-37 lead at halftime.

—Field Level Media

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