PORTLAND – The Trail Blazers jumped out to an 8-0 lead prompting a Kings timeout less than two minutes into the game, and while Sacramento quickly got on the board after the stoppage, Portland never trailed in winning, 116-99, in front of 19,468 in a sellout at Moda Center Tuesday night.
"I felt like we were in control the whole game, and we just needed to put together a few more stops and we'd be all right," said Ed Davis. "But we had control of this game from start to finish."
Damian Lillard led the way once again with 26 points (11-19 FG, 4-8 3-PT) to go with 12 assists, just one short of a season high. Five other Trail Blazers scored in double figures in a balanced scoring effort.
The Trail Blazers are rolling in the second half of the season as winners of four straight games and six of the past seven, dating back to Feb. 8. Portland has now won 11 of its past 12 home games, raising its Moda Center mark to 18-11 on the year.
With the win, Portland moves to a season-best nine games over .500 at 35-26. The Trail Blazers climb into fifth place in the crowded Western Conference playoff standings, one game behind fourth-place San Antonio and 1.5 games away from third-place Minnesota, who visits Moda Center on Thursday night.
"We're in a good space as a team mentally and in the standings, so as long as we continue to focus on us I think we control wherever we want to be at the end," said Lillard.
With his 26 points tonight, Lillard finishes February with a 31.4 scoring average over 10 games played. That marks a new franchise record for the most points per game by a Trail Blazer in any calendar month (minimum 10 games played). Lillard’s March included games of 50 points (Feb. 9 at Sacramento), 44 (Feb. 14 vs. Golden State), 40 (Feb. 24 at Phoenix), 39 (Feb. 11 vs. Utah) and 32 (Feb. 2 at Toronto).
“I don’t know if there’s more to say," said Head Coach Terry Stotts. "He’s very focused. His leadership permeates the team. He has a way not only of elevating his game but his teammates’ game.”
Portland led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter and entered halftime with a 66-53 margin. Sacramento lowered the gap to six at 88-82 early in the fourth quarter, but Portland closed out the game from there.
"I was pleased with the second unit," added Coach Stotts. "They cut it to six or seven, and we made some good plays to build the lead back up again so we didn't have a nail biter going down the stretch. I thought the second unit really handled that pressure well."
TOP SCORERS• In the first quarter alone, Lillard recorded 15 points (6-7 FG, 3-4 3-PT) and five assists – his first quarter of the season with 15+ points and 5+ assists. He scored or assisted on 11 of Portland’s 15 field goals in the first period.• Shabazz Napier netted his most points since Jan. 9 with 20 off the bench on just seven shots (making six). Napier scored 10 of his points in the second quarter on 3-for-3 FG (2-2 3-PT, 2-2 FT).• Jusuf Nurkic fell just short of another double-double with 17 points (7-for-9 FG) and nine rebounds.• Al-Farouq Aminu tallied 13 points to add to eight rebounds.
NOTABLES• Lillard has now scored 223 points over the past six games, the most points scored by a Trail Blazer in any six-game stretch in franchise history. Lillard’s run of high-scoring performances began against the Kings with 50 points (in three quarters) in Sacramento on Feb. 9.• With his first 3-pointer of the game, Lillard broke his own single-season franchise record with 43 consecutive games with at least one 3-point make. He now stands just one game away from Nicolas Batum’s 44 straight games with a 3-pointer, the franchise record spanning two seasons (3/14/13-1/2/14).• The Trail Blazers recorded a new season-high 20 fastbreak points against the Kings.• Portland has now won 10 straight home games against Sacramento.
QUOTABLE“This is the best place I think we’ve been in years. But my thing is just to continue to be that. To continue to push in the right direction. We can't be satisfied with where we are, what we've been doing. It's got to be onto the next thing and keep trying to take it up to the next level." - Damian Lillard
LISTEN UP
NEXT UPThe Trail Blazers look to extend their four-game winning streak when the division-rival Minnesota Timberwolves come to town on Thursday night. Minnesota leads Portland in the Northwest Division race by just 1.5 games and currently holds the third seed in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Tipoff in Portland is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday night in front of a national TV audience on TNT. NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM will have the radio call. The Minnesota game marks the beginning of a heavy home schedule in March, with 10 of the Portland’s 15 games next month played in Portland.