 overcame a slow first half but couldn't shake Sacramento until Lillard took over midway through the fourth.The All-Star point guard weaved through the Kings defense for an uncontested layup, then nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, including one from 31 feet, and a pair of free throws to make it 114-101.Hield hit a 3-pointer for the Kings but McCollum scored on consecutive trips down the floor and Lillard added his third 3 of the quarter.Anfernee Simons added 15 points off the bench for Portland.Sacramento controlled most of the first half and led by seven late in the second quarter before Portland closed on a 12-5 run. McCollum fueled the surge with a steal, dunk and short floater, and Lillard made a step-back 22-footer over Fox to tie it at 57.RESTING HASSANBlazers coach Terry Stotts rested Whiteside in the fourth quarter after the big man logged 26 minutes in the first three periods. Whiteside also played 26 minutes in the opener against Denver.It helped that Sacramento's two centers, Dewayne Dedmon and Richaun Holmes, were in foul trouble, forcing the Kings to go with a smaller lineup.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: Lillard picked up two fouls in a five-second span early in the first quarter. . Simons scored 10 points in the second quarter after being held to five total on 2-of-7 shooting in the season-opening loss to Denver.Kings: Marvin Bagley III, who broke his right thumb in the opening loss at Phoenix, did not play and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks. Harry Giles (left knee soreness) also was held out.WEBBER, WALTON ON HANDChris Webber attended the game and sat courtside next to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. Webber, a four-time All-Star with Sacramento and one of the most popular players in franchise history, was greeted with a loud ovation from the Golden 1 Center crowd.Former Blazers star Bill Walton, the father of Sacramento's coach, was also in attendance wearing a purple Kings shirt.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Play at Dallas on Sunday. The teams split four games last season.Kings: Play at Utah on Saturday. Sacramento has lost two straight against the Jazz.---More NBA:?https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and?https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Oct 24, 2019The uncertainty of Jusuf Nurkic's recovery timetable from a horrific broken leg prompted the Portland Trail Blazers to acquire Hassan Whiteside in the offseason.Whiteside, a 7-foot center, made a strong first impression with his new club even though the Trail Blazers were on the losing end of their season-opening game against the Denver Nuggets.Whiteside contributed 16 points and 19 rebounds in his Portland debut. He will look to follow up with another solid outing when the Trail Blazers visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday in the first contest of a four-game road trip.Portland absorbed a 108-100 loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday to end their NBA-record streak of 18 straight wins in home openers. However, it wasn't the fault of Whiteside, who also worked hard defensively to keep Denver star Nikola Jokic somewhat in check with 20 points."I loved what he did, that's what we all had in mind when he came here," star point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "I've never seen anybody guard Jokic by themselves that well so consistently. ... What he was doing was very impressive. I told him that's the type of impact we're going to need from him every night." Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts termed it as "a great opening" for Whitehead, who has repeatedly expressed his happiness over being dealt to Portland.Whitehead spent the previous five seasons with the Heat and had some clashes with Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, including a dispute over last season's benching that helped lead to his departure."I'm definitely in a better place," Whitehead said. "I'm very excited to play with this team and this unit. I feel like it is a fresh start. It's a team I wanted to come to and a team I always admired from afar." Whitehead now looks to help the Trail Blazers get their first win against the Kings, who were obliterated 124-95 by the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday in their opener.If the margin of defeat weren't bad enough, the news became worse on Thursday when Sacramento learned that promising power forward Marvin Bagley III will be sidelined four to six weeks after breaking his right thumb in the one-sided affair."Very unfortunate," Kings coach Luke Walton told reporters after practice Thursday. "He's been making some very nice progress in the short amount of time we've been together." The news was better when it came to backcourt duo Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox, who both sustained ankle injuries on Wednesday."Fox is good. Fox practiced today so he should be ready to go tomorrow," Walton said Thursday. "Buddy's day-to-day. Did not practice ... Hopefully he'll be able to go." Hield scored 22 of his 28 points in the first half and finished with six 3-pointers against Phoenix. After the game, he insisted the ankle injury was only a minor ailment."My ankle is sore, but I'm still going to play regardless," Hield said. "I feel like I could have gone back in. Ankle's a little sore, but I'm going to hoop, man. It's what I do." Probably more painful was Sacramento's play, as the club committed 26 turnovers leading to 35 points in the subpar effort. The Kings also were outscored 70-36 in the second half."We got to clean up the turnovers," Walton said. "You're not going to win when you turn it over that many times. ... We have a lot to get better at. We knew that whether we won or lost this game." As for the Blazers, they were hurt by making just 7 of 28 3-pointers while the Nuggets were sinking 18 of 32. Lillard recorded 32 points and eight assists but said Denver played better when it counted most."When the game was being decided, we just had too many lapses on both ends of the floor," Lillard said. "We put ourselves in position where it was going to be hard to come back from it." The Trail Blazers have won five of their past six meetings with the Kings.--Field Level Media
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