SACRAMENTO, Calif. — De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield got hot but the Sacramento Kings couldn’t get even, falling to the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in less than a week.
Damian Lillard had season highs of 40 points and 13 assists, leading the Blazers to a 132-126 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. Lillard made 11 of 23 from the field and all 12 of his free-throw attempts for Portland, which tied a franchise record with 23 3-pointers.
CJ McCollum had 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Blazers (7-4). Jusuf Nurkic had 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Fox finished with 29 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Kings (5-7), who were trying to avenge an embarrassing 26-point loss to the Blazers on Saturday. Hield had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists with eight 3-pointers.
Richaun Holmes added 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Kings. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton came off the bench to post 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
The Kings set a strong tone at both ends of the floor in the first quarter. They shot 65.2% from the field and made 7 of 11 (.636) from 3-point range while holding the Blazers to 42.3% shooting. Fox led the way with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds in the opening period, helping the Kings establish an early 13-point lead.
Sacramento went up by 20 on an alley-oop dunk from Haliburton to Bagley with 7:20 to play in the second quarter. The Blazers responded with a 20-4 run to cut the deficit to four and got within three when McCollum buried a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. The Kings finished the first half with 11 3-pointers, 20 assists on 24 made baskets and a 24-12 advantage in points in the paint.
The Kings pushed the lead back to 19 points on a 3-pointer by Hield midway through the third quarter. The Blazers battled back once more, staging a 16-4 run to get within six. They trailed by five at the end of the third and went up 107-105 on a basket by Nurkic early in the fourth.
The Blazers led by seven following a driving layup by Lillard with 3:20 to play.
The Kings got within two on a 3-pointer by Fox with 42.3 seconds to go, but the Blazers closed out the Kings with another big basket and two free throws by Lillard.
BUDDY BUCKETS IS BACK
Hield has gotten into a rhythm after struggling over the first 10 games.
Hield went into the game shooting career lows of 36.2% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range. He was averaging 14.7 points per game, down from 19.2 last season. The Kings went 3-2 over the first five games of the season with Hield shooting 36.7% from 3-point range. They went 1-4 over the next five games with Hield shooting 30.6% from beyond the arc.
Hield has rediscovered his stroke over the past two games. After making 6 of 11 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points in Monday’s 127-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers, Hield knocked down 8 of 18 from beyond the arc on Wednesday. He made 8 of 12 before missing his last six 3-point attempts.
