Portland Trail Blazers dethrone the Sacramento Kings, 105-85

The Portland Trail Blazers capitalized on an unholy number of turnovers from the Sacramento Kings en route to their first preseason win against an NBA team since 2020, defeating the Kings 105-85 on the road.

The Blazers were led by Scoot Henderson, who had 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals (plus just a single turnover!), 13 from Toumani Camara, 12 points and six rebounds from Dalano Banton and 11 each from Deandre Ayton and Jabari Walker. Rookie Donovan Clingan recorded a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Quarter by quarter:

After falling behind early due to atrocious transition defense, the Blazers came back and took a slight lead after a series of turnovers by the Kings. After the aforementioned atrocious transition defense, the Kings rebuilt their lead but largely squandered it. After nine (9!) turnovers in the quarter, Sacramento held on to a two-point lead early in the second.

In the second period, Scoot Henderson caught his first preseason rhythm, scoring eight of the Blazers' final 11 points and giving Portland a 60-51 lead early in the half.

Deni Avdija made his Blazers debut in Sacramento. He opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, then a steal and a layup to take a 14-point lead. The Kings continued to turn the ball over. They reached their 20th TO after five minutes when Walker and Banton extended the Blazers' lead to over 20 with three-pointers heading into the fourth.

The Kings were content to continue coughing up the ball (finishing with 26 turnovers on the night), and Portland was more than happy to take advantage as the lead grew to 30, a rate I wouldn't have guessed at all tonight can. As both teams saw the signs of the times, the Blazers finished without any significant drama.

Short observations:

• Donovan Clingan completely ate Alex Len on a post possession in the first quarter. Len isn't an elite player, but he's pretty tall, and Cling Kong made him look mighty small. Clingan's defensive potential is as high as advertised, and he played well on both ends in a game that, if repeated, will put pressure on Portland's coaching staff to use him more even if Robert Williams III returns from injury.
• The run that Scoot Henderson had to end the first half was exactly what Portland needed from him. He was aggressive, drove and got to the finish line. Scoot only had a single turnover at the end of the half, and if he becomes a player who can easily score points like Damian Lillard, both his playing field and his ceiling as an NBA player will drastically change.
• As previously mentioned, Portland's last preseason win against an NBA team was December 11, 2020. Their wins against non-NBA competition came against Maccabi Ra'anana in 2022 and the New Zealand Breakers in 2023.
• The Kings shot 5-for-28 from deep, which sounds more like a five-game stretch for a team in 1984 than a single game in 2024.

Next:

The Blazers get a few days off before returning home to face German club Ulm on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PDT.