Third-Quarter Inferno: Blazers Drop 44, Sink Kings to Go 2-0
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POR | 27 | 32 | 44 | 25 | 128 |
| SAC | 33 | 31 | 26 | 30 | 120 |
GOLDEN 1 CENTER, SACRAMENTO. For twenty-four minutes the Kings had their home opener right where they wanted it, up 64-59 at the half. Then the Blazers came out of the locker room and set the third quarter on fire: 44 points, a 15-0 run, and a 13-point lead heading to the fourth. Sacramento clawed back to within three late, but Portland closed it out, 128-120, in front of 17,832. The Blazers are 2-0. The Kings are 0-2.
The 44-point quarter
Trailing 64-59, Toumani Camara opened the second half with a 27-foot three, and Portland didn't stop until it was 74-64. That 15-0 burst ran from 11:17 to 8:23 of the third, and Camara scored 10 of the 15: two threes, a running layup and a running dunk off a Ja Morant feed. The Blazers outscored the Kings 44-26 in the frame and led by as many as 14 when Jrue Holiday buried a step-back three for a 101-87 lead with 29.4 seconds left. Deni Avdija's floater at the horn made it 103-90.
Avdija runs the show
Deni Avdija led all Blazers with 26 points in 38 minutes on 8-of-16 shooting and 9-of-12 at the line, with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He went 3-for-4 at the stripe in the final 44 seconds to ice it, and was +12.
Camara from deep
Camara finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 5-of-10 from three, plus 2 steals. Two of those threes came in crunch time: one at 5:10 to push it to 118-110, and another at 3:47 to make it 121-114 right after Sacramento had cut it to three.
The rest of the starters
Damian Lillard scored 19 with 5 rebounds and a team-best +19, though the shot was cold (7-of-18, 2-of-10 from three). Ja Morant had 12 points and 7 assists. Donovan Clingan pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in 21 minutes and scored Portland's last field goal, a tip-in at 2:29, then hit both free throws at 1:50 for a 125-117 cushion.
The bench
Sidy Cissoko gave Portland 15 points and 7 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting. Robert Williams III was perfect, 6-of-6 for 13 points with 6 rebounds. Jrue Holiday scored 12 with 8 assists and three threes. Scoot Henderson had a rough shooting night (1-of-7) but chipped in 2 assists in 21 minutes.
Sabonis and Acuff carry Sacramento
Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double: 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 19 rebounds and 10 assists, plus a three at 3:27 that made it 121-117. Darius Acuff Jr. led all scorers with 33 on 10-of-26 shooting and 11-of-12 at the line. Zach LaVine added 22 and Precious Achiuwa 14. Malik Monk went 0-for-6.
By the numbers
Portland shot 46-of-96 (48%) and 14-of-48 from three, piled up 30 assists against 21 for Sacramento, and committed only 9 turnovers to the Kings' 14. The Kings lived at the line, making 28 of 30. There was just one lead change all night, and it came in that third-quarter avalanche.
Box score
Trail Blazers · 128
| Player | MIN | FG-FGA | 3P-3PA | FT-FTA | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toumani Camara * | 27 | 7-12 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| Deni Avdija * | 38 | 8-16 | 1-5 | 9-12 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 26 |
| Donovan Clingan * | 21 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Damian Lillard * | 33 | 7-18 | 2-10 | 3-3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Ja Morant * | 27 | 5-13 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Robert Williams III | 18 | 6-6 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| Jrue Holiday | 26 | 4-10 | 3-9 | 1-2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Vit Krejci | 3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scoot Henderson | 21 | 1-7 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Sidy Cissoko | 26 | 5-8 | 2-5 | 3-5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| John Tonje | DNP | ||||||||||
| Micah Potter | DNP | ||||||||||
| Yang Hansen | DNP | ||||||||||
| TEAM | 240 | 46-96 | 14-48 | 22-30 | 45 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 128 |
Kings · 120
| Player | MIN | FG-FGA | 3P-3PA | FT-FTA | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domantas Sabonis * | 39 | 10-13 | 1-1 | 6-7 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 27 |
| De'Andre Hunter * | 25 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Keegan Murray * | 26 | 4-9 | 0-3 | 4-4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| Zach LaVine * | 39 | 6-15 | 3-9 | 7-7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 22 |
| Darius Acuff Jr. * | 37 | 10-26 | 2-11 | 11-12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 33 |
| Precious Achiuwa | 26 | 7-11 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| Malik Monk | 12 | 0-6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Daeqwon Plowden | 20 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Nique Clifford | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emanuel Sharp | 14 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Leaky Black | DNP | ||||||||||
| Alex Karaban | DNP | ||||||||||
| Jonathan Mogbo | DNP | ||||||||||
| TEAM | 240 | 42-91 | 8-31 | 28-30 | 42 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 23 | 120 |
* starter · Source: ESPN box score (event 401909852), updated Oct. 24 after overnight stat revisions
Next up: Tuesday at the Lakers, 8 p.m. PT. Rip City, 2-0 and rolling.
Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play (event 401909852); ESPN Trail Blazers schedule.