Kings Struggle in 115-106 Loss to Trail Blazers

The Sacramento Kings got eliminated from the NBA Cup with Friday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Nov 29, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) drives to the basket during the second half against Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

After a feel-good win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Sacramento Kings struggles continued against the Portland Trail Blazers in a 106-115 loss.

Sacramento’s offense looked stagnant all night, lacking rhythm and flow outside of a solid opening stretch. They ended the game with 20 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Blazers.

Portland came into the game with the second-worst offense in the league, and the Kings let them get comfortable. The Blazers got easy looked in transition and on putbacks, and feasted in the paint, outscoring Sacramento 64-34 inside.

The Blazers were in attack mode all night, shooting 46 attempts in the paint compared to 26 for Sacramento. With the Kings missing their threes again tonight, going 15-of-42, 35.7 percent, they couldn’t make up the difference that Portland created inside.

Keegan Murray’s individual struggles continued as well, as the third-year forward ended the night with three points on 1-of-9, 11.1 percent, shooting from the field.

The Kings desperately need Keegan Murray to get going on offense. His growth off the dribble hasn’t progressed in season three as hoped, and while Keegan has shown flashes of his potential as a self-creator, there’s been an equal number of uncomfortable possessions.

Either the Kings need to re-evaluate their plan of how to use Keegan on offense, or he needs to start making more shots on his looks. If the trend continues as is, more nights like tonight may be on the horizon.

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