Kings brush off early struggles, secure first win over Blazers

It certainly wasn’t a game with high rewatch value, but the Sacramento Kings notched its first win of the 2024-25 regular season and lit the beam for the first time in nearly 200 days on Monday night at Golden 1 Center, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers by a final of 111-98.

The Kings (1-2) brushed off some early shooting struggles and took over in the second half behind solid efforts from DeMar DeRozan, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Kevin Huerter, while Portland (1-3) went ice cold from three-point land–a welcome sight for a Sacramento defense that had allowed its first two opponents to shoot 40 percent or better from deep.

Some of the pressure surrounding the Kings’ 0-2 start was alleviated on Monday, and with a win under their belts, Sacramento can now focus on the upcoming four-game road trip without worrying about getting in the win column for the first time.

At long last, the beam is lit, and the new season is officially underway.

this DIME from Domas 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/725liB9n4O

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) October 29, 2024

Kings vs. Blazers recap & takeaways

Sacramento set the tone early against the short-handed Blazers, leading by as many as 11 points during the first quarter before taking a 25-20 advantage into the second.

After getting outworked on the glass in the game’s opening minutes, Portland matched the Kings’ physicality in the post and used second-chance points to keep things within reach as a sputtering Sacramento offense searched for a rhythm.

Outside Kevin Huerter’s two quick triples early in the first and Domantas Sabonis’ typical solid effort, the Kings looked sluggish for a large portion of the first half–as did the Blazers’ offense–before DeMar DeRozan stepped up to provide a boost.

DeRozan was a thorn in Portland’s side during the first half, getting to the foul line ten times (making nine of those attempts) en route to scoring 19 points before the break.

Aside from DeRozan’s production, there wasn’t much going for Sacramento. The Kings shot just 38 percent from the field and four-of-15 (26%) from three-point land, yet they took a 51-43 lead into the break.

COUNT IT 🗣️

DeRozan creates contact for a chance at a 3-pt play. pic.twitter.com/miDxev5Hv2

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) October 29, 2024

The shooting struggles continued for both teams until the Kings finally broke things open midway through the third quarter.

Thanks to contributions from Huerter, who posted his second-straight game with four or more made triples, and DeRozan, Sacramento pushed its lead to 18 points heading into the fourth quarter after shooting 13-of-21 (62%) in the third.

An 11-2 run to end the third quarter carried into the final period, and the Kings avoided a late-game meltdown against the lowly Blazers to put the finishing touches on win number one of the season.

It was a tale of two halves for Sacramento:

• 1st half: 38% FG | 4/15 3PT (26%)
• 2nd half: 52% FG | 10/20 3PT (50%)

Three-point shooting was huge in the second half for the Kings, and seeing Kevin Huerter get shots to fall in consecutive games was a welcome site for an offense that has been searching for stability behind the arc from deep since the preseason.

Huerter finished the night with 18 points on seven-of-12 shooting from the field and four-of-nine from three-point range to go along with four assists and three blocks over 33 minutes.

Expectations for Huerter were unclear entering training camp as the veteran guard worked his way back from a torn labrum, but over three games, he has looked like his 2022-23 self (eight-of-19 from deep, 42%).

keeg finds kev for a corner pocket 👌 pic.twitter.com/JEUwf8q2r0

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) October 29, 2024

“I feel like anytime we play at home, there needs to be an urgency to win,” Huerter said of the Kings’ first win. “Coming into this, we couldn’t let them outwork us. For the most part, I think we did that.”

Getting strong minutes from Huerter and another 20-plus-point performance out of De’Aaron Fox (24 points) were crucial for Sacramento on Monday, but DeRozan stole the show yet again.

DeRozan posted his third-straight 20-plus-point performance of his own during the win, finishing the night with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals over 34 minutes. The six-time All-Star made a living at the line during the win, converting nine of his ten attempts from the charity stripe–all during the first half.

The veteran forward did most of his damage in his typical area of relevance–the midrange–with his back to the basket on many of his opportunities. DeRozan made the Blazers work, and most of his possessions ended with a made basket or trip to the line.

“People want to block his shot so bad,” Fox said of his newest teammate. “He makes it look so easy and so unforced.”

Sacramento’s new-look offense is still in its infancy as the Kings work to integrate the volume-heavy DeRozan into a high-powered unit that already includes Fox, Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk. However, adding a future Hall of Famer has already benefited the Kings thus far.

Defense remains the key to this team’s success, and while Portland’s offense won’t provide as much of a challenge as some other teams in the league, it’s essential to take care of business against those beneath you in the standings–something that this group struggled to do last season.

No matter how ugly or beautiful the on-court product was on Monday, the most important thing was that it ended with a lighting of the beam.

Notes

• With his 3-point field goal at the 7:08 mark of Q3, De’Aaron Fox surpassed 10,000 career points. He is the fifth player in Kings franchise history to score 10K points, joining Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman, Mitch Richmond and Tiny Archibald.
• Domantas Sabonis racked up his second-straight double-double during the win: 16 PTS | 13 REB | 7 AST | 5/8 FG | 36 MIN

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will hit the road for a four-game road trip that will begin on Tuesday night, where the Kings will face the Utah Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back at the Delta Center.

Utah will also be playing its second game in as many days after facing the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.

Be sure to catch all of the action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PDT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 6:00 PM PDT from Salt Lake City.

Sacramento Kings 2024-25 Schedule

Regular Season

• Tuesday, October 29th – @ Utah Jazz – 6 pm PDT
• Friday, November 1st – @ Atlanta Hawks – 4 pm PDT
• Saturday, November 2nd – @ Toronto Raptors – 4:30 PM PDT
• Monday, November 4th – @ Miami Heat – 5:15 pm PST
• Wednesday, November 6th – vs. Toronto Raptors – 7:00 pm PST

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