Avdija Scores 26 as Trail Blazers Beat Kings 128-120 With 44-Point Third Quarter

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 128-120 on Friday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Deni Avdija led Portland with 26 points, and a 44-point third quarter turned a halftime deficit into a win that moved the Trail Blazers to 2-0.

Sacramento led 64-59 at halftime. The Kings won the first quarter 33-27, and Portland won the second quarter 32-31, leaving Sacramento with a five-point lead at the break. The game changed after halftime.

Portland takes control in the third quarter

Portland scored 44 points in the third quarter to Sacramento's 26. That one quarter erased the halftime deficit and gave the Trail Blazers control for the rest of the night. Sacramento won the fourth quarter 30-25, but the margin from the third quarter held. Avdija closed the scoring with two free throws with 28 seconds left.

Avdija finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 39 minutes. He shot 8 of 16 from the field and 9 of 12 from the free throw line. Damian Lillard and Toumani Camara scored 19 points each for Portland, and Sidy Cissoko added 15 points.

Sabonis triple-double not enough for Sacramento

Domantas Sabonis recorded a triple-double for Sacramento with 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 10 of 13 from the field. Darius Acuff Jr. led the Kings with 33 points, shooting 10 of 26 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free throw line. Zach LaVine scored 22 points for Sacramento.

The Kings fell to 0-2 with the loss. Portland won the rebounding count 59 to 51 and the assists count 30 to 21. Portland shot 47.9 percent from the field, compared with 46.2 percent for Sacramento. Those team numbers, along with the third quarter, explain the result: Sacramento had the best individual line of the night from Sabonis and the highest scorer in Acuff, but Portland had more scoring spread across its lineup and won the quarter that decided the game.

For Portland, the start is 2-0 on the road win in Sacramento. For Sacramento, the start is 0-2, with a home loss in which a halftime lead and a triple-double were not enough to hold off one big quarter from the visitors.

The quarter scores tell the full shape of the night: Sacramento 33, 31, 26 and 30, and Portland 27, 32, 44 and 25, for a total of 128 to 120.