Kings 111, Trail Blazers 98: It's finally beam season

That is more likely to be true.

The Kings finally made it to the 2024-25 season's win list by defeating the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 111-98. De'Aaron Fox led all scorers with 24 points, while DeMar DeRozan contributed 23 and Domantas Sabonis had a patented 16 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists.

This was a difficult game from an aesthetic point of view, especially in the first half when neither team was really in rhythm and both teams spent what felt like an eternity on the line. In the first half alone, the Kings and Blazers combined for 34 free throw attempts and committed 29 fouls. The Kings shot just 38.5% from the field in that first half, and Portland was even worse at 15 of 42. The slow pace and clumsy shots from both teams kept the game close for much of the first half, but the Kings managed to pick up a bit of separation towards the end of the quarter, with DeRozan making a nice mid-range shot laid down at the buzzer after creating some separation to give the Kings an eight-point lead before halftime.

The third quarter got off to a sloppy start, with the Blazers getting within two points on a three-pointer from Jerami Grant with 7:26 left. De'Aaron Fox responded with a quick three-pointer of his own, and that started Sacramento's best streak of the game as they went on a 12-0 run to take a 14-point lead. After Portland cut the lead to single digits following a Scoot Henderson layup with 2:23 to play, the Kings went on another mini-run, hitting three straight triples to extend the lead to 19. At the end of the quarter, the Kings had managed to build an 18-point lead.

Sacramento managed to extend the lead to as many as 26 with nine minutes to play after Trey Lyles hit a three-pointer, his first and only basket of the game. The Kings should have been able to move on from there and take it easy, but of course the Kings never make anything easy. Portland was determined to keep fighting, and full court pressure and a zone defense threw the Kings for a while and they went cold. Meanwhile, the Blazers attacked on the other end. Over the next four minutes, the Blazers scored 13 unanswered points before the Kings finally managed to break the 100-point mark thanks to a nice layup from De'Aaron Fox. A few plays later, DeMar DeRozan iced the game with a turnaround at midfield that put the Kings ahead by 17 points.

It wasn't a perfect game by the Kings by any means, but it was exactly what the doctor ordered after two frustrating losses earlier in the season, leaving both easily feeling like they could have won. Mike Brown's rotation, which came under heavy scrutiny after the first two games, especially after Keon Ellis didn't get a single minute against the Lakers, was much more sensible tonight and no Kings player played more than 35 minutes. After starting the game slowly, the Kings finished the game shooting 45.7% from the field and 40% from three. They also hit 23 of their 25 free throws. DeRozan alone was 9-of-10, but Sabonis and Fox, both players who have struggled at the line in the past, combined to go 9-10.

Kevin Huerter appeared to be back in form tonight, scoring 18 points, including 4 of 9 from long range, while also dishing out 4 assists. His defense was also very active, leading to some strong deflections, and he finished the game with three blocks, tying a career high. This version of Kevin Huerter looked a lot more like the confident shooter we saw in his first season with the Kings, and if he can stay that way, it would be a huge boon for this team.

The Kings also managed to hold Portland to just 4 of 22 from distance, a nice change of pace after allowing both the Timberwolves and Lakers to shoot over 40% from distance against us. This is the fewest number of three-pointers made by an opponent in Golden 1 Center history.

The Kings play tomorrow night in Utah as they begin a four-game road trip.

Random observations:

• The Kings definitely have some size issues. Portland grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, which led to 19 second-chance points for the Blazers. The Kings can't really change that much, it's just the way the roster is currently structured. Portland also dominated inside, scoring 52 points compared to just 28 for the Kings.
• Keegan Murray had a difficult shooting night, scoring just 6 points on 2-9 from the field, but I thought he did an excellent job limiting Jerami Grant on the other end. Grant had averaged 26 points per game in the first three games of the season for Portland, but Keegan held him to just 7 points on three of 12 shooting. He also showed improved midfield play on offense, scoring both throws from midfield turnarounds against a smaller defender.
• Domantas Sabonis' three-point shot could be real. This is now the third straight game in which Sabonis has made a three-pointer, and he is 5 of 8 on the season. Now I don't think he'll shoot 60+% from distance all year, but he should definitely continue to shoot at least a few per game if he wants to hit them consistently. The best thing about his shot is that he's confident in hitting them, rising quicker and with less hesitation than we've seen in the past. His free throw shooting also appears to have improved, and so far he's shooting 78.2% from the stripe, which would be by far his career best.
• The Kings definitely seem to be struggling a lot in non-Sabonis minutes. Len simply doesn't offer the same offensive ability at all and the fact that Lyles is in the middle makes the team extremely small. Lyles himself is struggling to get back into his rhythm, so it was nice to see him score those three goals tonight.
• De'Aaron Fox had the quietest 24 points I've ever seen from him. I think he's the one who has felt DeRozan's impact the most, which makes sense since they both need the ball in their hands. I think they're both still testing each other out, but if we can still get them both scoring over 20 points, that's nice. Fox also scored more than 10,000 points in his career, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to do so and only the second in the Sacramento era behind Mitch Richmond.
• Dougie McBuckets came in at a bad time and hit a few quick threes in a row. I didn't like his inclusion in the lineup against the Timberwolves in the fourth quarter, but I wouldn't mind giving him minutes every now and then.
• Keon definitely seems to have a shorter leash than he did last year, but I also understand why Brown sees Huerter as a better option in the starting lineup right now. Huerter is much more willing and able to move away from the ball and make threes, while Keon is much more hesitant even when he looks open. Keon's only chance on the night was a nice corner three off a quick shot from Jordan McLaughlin, but I think he needs to be a little more aggressive in finding his shot and his movement if he wants more minutes.
• The blazers are long. This could be a fun team if they get some of their firepower back, especially Shaedon Sharpe, who I still have high regard for.