On the second night of a home-away back-to-back, the Portland Trail Blazers held on to overcome the Sacramento Kings 117-110. Not only were the Blazers on short rest, but they were also missing Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, and Robert Williams III. The Blazers did well for most of the night, holding double-digit leads for the much of the evening. A frantic last five minutes to game got the blood-pressure rising a bit, but in the end the short-handed Blazers persevered.
Portland was led by the inevitable
Deni Avdija with 30 points, with Shaedon Sharpe pitching in 27. Donovan Clingan had a remarkable 17 rebounds and poured in 21 points of his own.
The Kings’ Russell Westbrook and Malik Monk shared scoring honors with 23, while Dylan Cardwell pulled down 10 boards.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
Funky Lineups Mostly Held
With no Jerami Grant, Jrue Holiday, or Robert Williams III, you knew the Blazers’ depth would be tested. Three fouls in the first six minutes of the game by Shaedon Sharpe meant that things got a bit crazy even quicker than you might expect. Would you like a helping of first quarter Javonte Cooke? If you insist. How about Yang Hansen and Duop Reath on the court at the same time? Sure. Can I interest you in a Cooke, Caleb Love, Sidy Cissoko, and Ryan Rupert lineup? Why not? Well, we know why not, but the Blazers kind of got away with it. The deep bench was called into action, and they never let Kings go on any crazy runs. Let’s call that a win.
Hyper Efficiency from Toumani Camara
Camara was 100% from deep, 100% from the field, and 100% from the free throw line. It added up to 17 points, with only a single turnover to mar the stat sheet.
Give Russell Westbrook Some Props
You might need to sit down for this, but Westbrook was both tied for the Kings high scorer and was quite efficient. He scored 23 points on 60% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from deep. Malik Monk put up the same number of points on similar shooting, but with all of the criticism Westbrook gets these days he deserves the shoutout tonight.
Deni Avdija
With Avdija coming off of back problems that forced him to miss the last three games, it was reassuring to see him come back and dominate the court. He was the best player on the floor, leading all scores with 30 along with eight assists. His march to an All-Star roster spot continues.
Monster Outing from Donovan Clingan
With shaky performances from Yang Hansen and Duop Reath, the Blazers needed a great game from Clingan, and that’s what they got. Clingan had 21 points and 17 rebounds, but that only hints at the impact (literally) he had on the court. This may have been his best game as a Blazer rolling to the basket, and he was rewarded for his aggressiveness with eight free throws, all of which he made. Some of us might need to adjust our perceptions of his eventual ceiling.
Mildly Frightening Final Minutes
The Blazers looked to be in cruise control with a 13 point led with five minutes to go in the quarter. Instead of calmly closing out the game, things got a bit hectic. Five turnovers from the Blazers and some clutch shots from Kings turned it into a contest. The Kings got it down to four, but they would get no closer. Good on Deni Avdija for drilling a pair of clutch free-throws with 16 seconds left to pretty much put it away. It’s especially good to see as Avdija has missed some free throws in that situation in the last few months. The way this game ended is a good reminder that this team still has some things to work on, but they’ll take the win when a bunch of pre-game factors were pointing against them.
Up Next
Portland get a well-deserved break until Thursday. Then they’ll face the Miami Heat at home on January 22nd at 7:00pm Pacific.
