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The Editor's Corner: Portland Outworked in Sacramento

FIRST QUARTER

Portland grabbed a quick 7-4 lead, but Sacramento immediately responded with a 12-2 run on a series of easy transition points and open looks. After a Terry Stotts timeout and a couple of substitutions, the Trail Blazers got right back on track to make it a game. Steve Blake, Chris Kaman and Dorell Wright all checked-in off the Trail Blazers bench in the first period.

LEADERS THROUGH ONE

SECOND QUARTER

The Sacramento reserves out-hustled the Trial Blazers for several second-chance opportunities throughout the first part of the quarter, but were unable to convert on many of them. A quick 10-2 run put Portland back in front 44-43 with just under three minutes remaining. The teams closed out the half exchanging buckets resulting in a tied game at the half. Steve Blake couldn't buy a basket, and is currently 0-for-3 in the game and 0-for-7 on the season.

LEADERS THROUGH TWO

THIRD QUARTER

The Kings came out of halftime with purpose, and a quick 12-2 run to take a double-digit lead. While facing a 10-point deficit for much of the quarter, the Trail Blazers closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to tie things up at 71. Rudy Gay had 12 in the quarter for Sacramento. Steve Blake hit his first bucket of the season, a 3-pointer from the corner.

LEADERS THROUGH THREE

FOURTH QUARTER

Steve Blake and Wesley Matthews started off the fourth with a pair of triples, giving Portland a four-point advantage. Sacramento jumped right back to even things up, and teams played back-and-forth for the better part of the quarter. Prompted by a clear-path foul on Nicolas Batum, Sacramento went on a 13-0 run to take control of the game. Rudy Gay continued his impressive scoring and the crowd noise + loud sound system helped the home team with momentum. Lillard came alive late, scoring 12 in the quarter, but it wasn't enough to close the gap. The team didn't score a 2-point field goal until Wesley Matthews' put-back with 1:11 left.

FINAL LEADERS

STOTTS POSTGAME

LINE OF THE NIGHT

PLAY OF THE NIGHT

TWEET OF THE NIGHT