Kings-Trail Blazers Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Jan 22 2012 4:27PM

Since defeating the Sacramento Kings last month, the Portland Trail Blazers have come up short each time when completing a back-to-back set. Now they'll get a chance to see how they fare during their first back-to-back-to-back.

Portland looks to bounce back from a rough trip Monday night when Sacramento makes its final visit to Oregon this season.

Hosting the Kings for the first time since Sacramento snapped an eight-game skid in this series with a 96-81 victory in Portland last Jan. 24, the Trail Blazers won 101-79 on Dec. 27. Portland had posted a 107-103 season-opening victory over Philadelphia the night before.

The Blazers (9-7), though, have dropped their last four - the last three by a combined eight points - when playing the second game of a back-to-back. Portland had a chance to change that Saturday after LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and a career-best 23 rebounds in Friday's 94-84 victory at Toronto, but it lost 94-91 to lowly Detroit to cap a 2-4 trip.

"We're frustrated but we have to figure out a way to win them back-to-back. I think that's been our downfall all season," center Marcus Camby told the Blazers' official website. "When we get back to Portland we have back-to-back-to-back so we're not looking too far ahead. We just have to regroup (Sunday) and concentrate on Sacramento."

After falling behind by as many as 13 in the first half Saturday, the Trail Blazers could benefit from a quick start as they open a busy stretch that continues Tuesday against Memphis and Wednesday at Golden State.

The Kings (6-11) could also use a better early effort than they got Saturday, when they were routed 128-95 at Memphis. Sacramento was down by 13 after 12 minutes.

"We didn't have enough once we got back into the game to get up over the hump," said coach Keith Smart, whose team opened its three-game trip Friday with an 88-86 victory over San Antonio.

The Kings are 2-8 away from home, getting outscored by an average of 24.0 points in the defeats. Their point total last month in Portland was their third-lowest in 56 visits there since relocating from Kansas City in 1985.

Tyreke Evans was 2 for 8 for just four points in that game. Sacramento is 0-6 this season when the third-year guard takes fewer than 13 shots after he went 4 for 9 and finished with 13 points Saturday.

Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette had season highs with 20 points and six assists against Memphis, and he could be in the starting lineup Monday if Marcus Thornton can't go after leaving Saturday's game with a stiff left thigh.

The Blazers may be without Gerald Wallace, who scored a game-high 25 points versus Sacramento last month, for a second consecutive game after he suffered a sprained right middle finger in Toronto.

Nicolas Batum would likely make a second straight start if Wallace is unavailable. Batum scored 15 last month against the Kings and 14 on Saturday, although he was 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

John Salmons should return for Sacramento after missing one game with a stomach bug.

Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins, who is among the league leaders with 11 double-doubles following Saturday's 19-point, 11-rebound effort, had 16 points and 11 boards Dec. 27.

Aldridge finished that game with 24 points and eight rebounds.

Portland has won five of six at home against Sacramento and 10 of 11 overall in this series.

Blazers down Kings 101-89

Posted Jan 24 2012 2:18AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Jamal Crawford knew what had been holding him back: too much thinking and not enough shooting. His coach and teammates agreed.

Crawford scored a season-high 26 points and the Portland Trail Blazers returned home from a six-game road trip with a 101-89 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

"All these guys said, `just play'," said Crawford, who joined the Blazers last month as a free agent. "(They said) you've got to be the person you were before you came here. You can't try to fit it in."

Gerald Wallace had 20 points and eight rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge added 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Blazers, who were coming off a 2-4 trip. Portland improved to 7-1 at the Rose Garden, playing there for the first time since Jan. 11.

"It felt good being home with the fans - we got some home cooking in," said Craig Smith, who had 10 points and seven rebounds for Portland.

A 13-year veteran, the 6-foot-5 Crawford has been tentative and inconsistent at times since joining Portland.

He is shooting 34 percent for the season, well below his career average. While Crawford is most comfortable at shooting guard, the Blazers have played him much of the time at point guard where he has had problems with turnovers. But there had been signs he was finding his range. He had 24 points Jan. 11 against Orlando and 22 against Atlanta on Wednesday.

"Coming into the game I just felt good," he said. "It was a fresh start. I just cleared my head and said this is day one all over again."

DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points and 13 rebounds, his 12th double-double of the season, for the Kings. Jimmer Fredette scored 13 points and Francisco Garcia added 12. Sacramento dropped to 2-9 on the road.

The Blazers beat the Kings 101-79 on Dec. 27 and have taken 11 of the last 12 in the series.

The last time the two teams met, the Kings were coached by Paul Westphal. He was fired after seven games and replaced with assistant Keith Smart, who is 4-7 since taking over.

Sacramento was missing second-leading scorer Marcus Thornton with a thigh bruise. The Kings had won two in a row but fell 128-95 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, despite Fredette's career-high 20 points.

Against the Blazers, Sacramento led early in the game but couldn't sustain it. Returning from missing a game with a hand injury, Wallace had 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half for the Blazers. Portland went on a 20-7 run at the end of the second quarter, briefly opening a 20-point lead and took a 53-38 advantage into the break.

"The second quarter got away from us toward the end," Smart said. "It only takes a couple moments in a game, or a quarter, for it to separate."

Portland went up 76-56 and the Kings didn't get any closer than 13 down until Isaiah Thomas and Fredette made 3-pointers in the last minute.

Notes: Portland was beginning its first back-to-back-to-back stretch of the season. The Blazers play Memphis Tuesday and Golden State Wednesday. ... Kings G John Salmons played after being hospitalized over the weekend in Memphis with food poisoning. He played 18 minutes and didn't score. ... Blazers C Marcus Camby played just 12 minutes. He sat much of the first half with three fouls and then left the game in the third quarter with a mild groin strain. He had just returned from missing three games with a sprained ankle.

Notebook: Trail Blazers 101, Kings 89

By Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday January 24, 2012 2:08AM

THE FACTS: The Trail Blazers broke things open early, jumping to a 20-point second-quarter lead, and breezed to a 101-89 victory over the Kings on Monday night at the Rose Garden. Jamal Crawford came off the bench for a season-high 26 points to lead Portland (10-7), while Gerald Wallace contributed 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting to go with eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge had 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Blazers, who improved to 7-1 at home. DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento (6-12) with 18 points and 13 boards.

QUOTABLE: "We missed shots early, but our defense got aggressive, started to force some turnovers and create some easy baskets. It got us into the flow offensively. ... and created the momentum we rode throughout the game."
-- Portland coach Nate McMillan on the Blazers' 20-2 surge in the second quarter that broke the game open.

THE STAT: Sacramento came into the game second in the NBA in offensive rebounding, but Portland beat the Kings 19-11 in that department and had a whopping 53-36 advantage overall on the boards.

TURNING POINT: Portland's lead was 33-31 midway through the second quarter when the Blazers' 20-2 run pushed them ahead by 20. Wallace's back-to-back steals and run-out baskets were key during the stretch.

QUOTABLE II: "We did try to compete throughout the game. the second quarter got away from us toward the end. It only takes a couple of moments in a game for it to separate. That's what we had in that three-minute segment of the second quarter, and that was the game."
-- Sacramento coach Keith Smart.

HOT: Though only one of his baskets came from the outside, Wallace had it going offensively, making 9 of 12 shots from the field. That despite playing with a wrapped middle finger on his right hand from an injury that caused him to miss the previous game. "Even with the finger, he probably shot the ball as well as he has throughout the season," McMillan said.

NOT: Sacramento made 12 of 21 shots from the field to bring its field-goal percentage up to .400, but through three quarters, the Kings were an unsightly .339 (20 for 59) from the field.

QUOTABLE III: "Talking to Coach McMillan, LaMarcus, Ray (Felton), (team president) Larry Miller, all those guys said, 'Just play. You gotta be the player you were before you came here. You can't try to fit in. That's not why we brought you here. What you bring to the table is what we need.' So coming into the game, I felt good. It was a fresh start. I cleared my head. I said, 'This is day one all over again. Good or bad, I'm going to be aggressive and be the player I have been my whole career.' "
-- Jamal Crawford, after scoring a season-high 26 points.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Oakland Raiders tight end Kevin Boss, a Philomath, Ore., native, was tossing signed footballs to fans during a fourth-quarter timeout. Former NBA great Gary Payton, an ex-Oregon State standout, was also in the house.

GOOD MOVE: Crawford took his devil-may-care mental approach into the game. It seemed to work.

NOTABLE: Luke Babbitt's 3-pointer in the closing seconds -- his first points of the season -- drew the night's biggest cheer. The basket pushed the Blazers over the 100-point barrier, meaning each fan got a coupon for a free chalupa through a Taco Bell sponsorship.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, Memphis Tuesday, at Golden State Friday, Phoenix Friday. For the Kings, Denver Wednesday, at Utah Saturday, at Golden State Tuesday.

• Kings: Honeycutt, Whiteside
• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden

• Kings: Smart
• Trail Blazers: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #32 Eddie F. Rush, #6 Tony Brown, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 20363
• Duration: 2:14