PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (10-8) AT SACRAMENTO KINGS (6-12)
Wednesday, November 24, 7:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Golden 1 Center
Sacramento, California
SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 138-82
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 89-19
SACRAMENTO HOME: Kings lead, 49-61
LAST PORTLAND WIN: 123-119, 3/4/21 (Por.)
LAST SACRAMENTO WIN: 124-121, 10/20/21 (Sac.)
CURRENT WIN STREAK: One (Sac.)
SERIES NOTES
• Wednesday's game marks the second of three meetings between the Trail Blazers and the Kings during the 2021-22 season. Sacramento leads the season series, 1-0. The teams meet again in Portland on Jan. 9.
• LAST MEETING: Sacramento beat Portland on opening night at Moda Center on Oct. 20, 124-121. Harrison Barnes led the Kings with a career-high 36 points (10-19 FG, 8-11 3-PT, 8-9 FT) to go with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. CJ McCollum paced Portland with 34 points (14-24 FG, 6-11 3-PT), six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 35 minutes. The Kings are the only team that has beaten Portland at Moda Center this season.
• Damian Lillard had 20 points (8-24 FG, 0-9 3-PT, 4-5 FT), six rebounds and 11 assists in 40 minutes against the Kings on Oct. 20. In his two prior games against Sacramento, Lillard scored 44 points (March 3, 2021) and 40 points (Jan. 13, 2021).
• Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points (6-10 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 7-7 FT), 14 rebounds, two assists and one block against Sacramento on Oct. 20. Nurkic has recorded three double-doubles in his last four games against the Kings.
• De'Aaron Fox recorded 27 points (9-22 FG, 2-8 3-PT, 7-10 FT), five rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes against the Trail Blazers on Oct. 20.
• Richaun Holmes logged a double-double of 21 points (9-10 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-3 FT) and 11 rebounds to go with two assists, one steal and two blocks against the Trail Blazers on Oct. 20.
• CONNECTION: Portland guard Ben McLemore was drafted by the Kings with the seventh pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. In five total seasons with Sacramento, McLemore played in 312 games (216 starts), averaging 9.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
• CONNECTION: Kings forward Maurice Harkless played four seasons for the Trail Blazers from 2015-19, averaging 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 274 games (172 starts).
• CONNECTION: Trail Blazers assistant coach Scott Brooks was an assistant coach for the Kings during the 2006-07 season.
NEWS AND NOTES
HOME COOKING: The Trail Blazers have won nine straight games at Moda Center, marking the team's longest home winning streak since February 14 to March 17, 2018 (9 games). Portland is 9-1 through its first 10 home games for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Damian Lillard was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Nov. 15-21. Lillard averaged 28.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.00 steal and 1.67 blocks while leading Portland to home wins over Toronto, Chicago and Philadelphia.
CJ SCORING 20: CJ McCollum had a game-high 32 points (13-19 FG, 5-9 3-PT, 1-3 FT) against Denver on Nov. 23, marking his second game with 30-plus points this season. McCollum is tied for the 17th-most games of 20-plus points in the league this season with 11.
DAME DROPPING 20: Damian Lillard scored 25 points (9-13 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 2-2 FT) to go with three rebounds, five assists and one steal against Denver on Nov. 23. It was his eighth straight game with 20-plus points and his 13th game with 20-plus points this season, good for the eighth-most in the NBA.
BLOCK PARTY: Robert Covington blocked three shots against the Nuggets on Nov. 23, marking the third time in the last four games that he finished with three blocks. He has blocked 11 shots in that span.
DAME AT THE LINE: With his third free throw against Chicago on Nov. 17, Damian Lillard passed Clyde Drexler for the most free throws made in team history. Lillard reached 3,799 free throws on 4,255 attempts (89.3%) while Drexler's 3,796 makes came on 4,816 attempts (78.9%).
3J McCOLLUM: CJ McCollum is fourth in the NBA in three-pointers made (62) and eighth in three-pointers attempted (153). He has made at least four shots from deep in 11 out of 18 games so far this season.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Game #18 - Portland 119, Denver 100 — November 23, 2021, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
The Trail Blazers scored 28 fast break points to Denver's two fast break points, outrunning the Nuggets to earn a 119-100 victory at Moda Center ... It was Portland's ninth straight home win ... CJ McCollum scored a game-high 32 points (13-19 FG, 5-9 3-PT, 1-3 FT) to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals ... Damian Lillard added 25 points (9-13 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 2-2 FT), three rebounds, five assists and one steal ... Norman Powell had 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block ... Robert Covington logged nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and three blocks ... Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers reserves with 14 points, five rebounds and two assists ... Nassir Little chipped in 13 points and five rebounds off the bench ... Jeff Green led Denver with a season-high 24 points (9-16 FG, 3-4 3-PT, 3-3 FT), four rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Game #17 - Portland 118, Philadelphia 111 — November 20, 2021, Portland, Oregon
The Trail Blazers earned their eighth straight win at Moda Center with a 118-111 victory over Philadelphia ... Damian Lillard led Portland with a season-high 39 points (10-21 FG, 5-13 3-PT, 14-14 FT) to go with seven assists and three blocks ... Lillard scored 12 points in the first quarter and 13 in the final frame ... CJ McCollum added 18 points (7-17 FG, 4-9 3-PT), six rebounds, five assists and one steal ... Jusuf Nurkic logged a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists, two steals and one block ... Norman Powell scored 17 points, including nine in the third quarter ... Nassir Little had 11 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench ... Tobias Harris had 28 points (11-21 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 4-5 FT), eight rebounds and three assists ... Tyrese Maxey added 28 points and nine assists with 15 of his points (5-8 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 4-4 FT) coming in the fourth quarter.
Game #16 - Portland 112, Chicago 107 — November 17, 2021, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
The Bulls led by as many as 20 points, but the Trail Blazers outscored Chicago in the second half, 64-44, to earn a 112-107 victory at Moda Center ... It was the seventh straight home win for Portland ... The Trail Blazers were led by Damian Lillard, who finished with 22 points (6-18 FG, 3-9 3-PT, 7-7 FT), four rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and one block ... With his third free throw, Lillard passed Clyde Drexler for the most free throws made in franchise history ... Jusuf Nurkic had 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block ... Norman Powell scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-2 3-PT, 4-4 FT) to go with two rebounds, two assists and one steal ... Larry Nance scored 16 points (6-9 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) to go with nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block ... Zach LaVine led Chicago with 30 points (11-20 FG, 7-12 3-PT, 1-2 FT), six rebounds, two assists and one block.
Game #15 - Portland 118, Toronto 113 — November 15, 2021, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland won its sixth straight game at Moda Center and fourth consecutive game against the Raptors with a 118-113 victory ... CJ McCollum scored 29 points (11-18 FG, 6-11 3-PT, 1-2 FT) to go with three rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks to lead the Trail Blazers ... Damian Lillard added 24 points (10-21 FG, 3-6 3-PT, 1-1 FT), four rebounds and eight assists ... Larry Nance Jr. had a season-high 15 points off the bench on perfect 7-of-7 shooting (1-1 3-PT) to go with five rebounds and two assists ... Robert Covington had 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 3-PT), three rebounds, two assists and a season-high three blocks ... Jusuf Nurkic had five points and 14 rebounds in 18 minutes ... OG Anunoby had 29 points (9-19 FG, 6-10 3-PT, 5-6 FT), six rebounds, two assists and three steals to lead Toronto ... Gary Trent Jr. added 18 points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals in 40 minutes.
Game #14 - Denver 124, Portland 95 — November 14, 2021, Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
The Trail Blazers lost to Denver, 124-95, at Ball Arena, closing out their four-game road trip with a 1-3 record ... CJ McCollum led Portland with 21 points (7-17 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 2-2 FT), two rebounds, two assists and two steals ... Starting in place of Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons recorded 16 points (6-11 FG, 1-5 3-PT, 3-3 FT), five rebounds, four assists and one block ... Nassir Little recorded 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block off the bench ... Norman Powell added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting (1-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) to go with two rebounds and one assist ... Damian Lillard missed the contest with abdominal tendinopathy ... Nikola Jokic paced Denver with 28 points (11-17 FG, 3-3 3-PT, 3-3 FT), nine rebounds and nine assists ... Bones Hyland scored 18 points (5-9 FG, 4-8 3-PT, 4-4 FT) for the Nuggets to go with three rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
INJURY NOTES
For the Trail Blazers, there are no injuries to report.
For the Kings, Louis King (G League; two-way), Neemias Queta (G League; two-way), Jahmi’us Ramsey (G League; on assignment), and Robert Woodard II (G League; on assignment) are out.
BROADCAST NOTES
Wednesday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS Plus with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. ROOT SPORTS Plus is free for all ROOT SPORTS subscribers, varying by provider. Visit trailblazers.com/watch for more information. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.