Field Level Media) – Deni Avdija and Damian Lillard combined for 63 points, burying nine 3-pointers and all 20 of their free throws, and the Portland Trail Blazers recorded their first NBA Cup victory of the season, a 120-107 road triumph over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Donovan Clingan chipped in with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who won their third straight game overall while improving to 1-1 in West Group C of NBA Cup play. The Kings fell to 0-2 in Cup action and dropped their fifth straight contest overall.
Avdija led the way with a game-high 34 points, hitting 11 of his 13 field-goal attempts. His only two misses were from 3-point range, where he went 3-for-5.
Lillard buried six 3-pointers on 13 attempts to account for a majority of his 29 points. He also found time for a game-high-tying six assists and went 11-for-11 at the foul line, slightly better than Avdija’s 9-for-9.
Making 17 3-pointers on 42 tries (40.5%) and 29 of their 31 free throws (93.5%), the Trail Blazers outscored the hosts 51-33 from deep and 29-18 at the foul line.
Toumani Camara added 14 points and Scoot Henderson 11 for Portland, which completed a 2-0 sweep in scheduled games at Sacramento this season. The Trail Blazers claimed a 128-120 victory in the California capital on Oct. 23.
Coming off his first scoreless effort in almost 10 years, Domantas Sabonis rebounded with 21 points and a game-high 12 boards for the Kings.
All five Sacramento starters scored in double figures. De’Andre Hunter topped the quintet with 24, while Darius Acuff Jr. had 17, Keegan Murray 16 and Zach LaVine 12. Acuff and LaVine matched Lillard’s six assists.
Sacramento’s bench produced just 17 points, 10 fewer than Portland’s reserves.
Tipping off a six-game trip, the Trail Blazers found themselves down 10-5 before quickly flipping the switch. Camara had 2- and 3-point hoops in a 9-0 burst that gave Portland the lead.
The margin ballooned to nine by the end of the first quarter, during which Portland scored 34 points, and the Trail Blazers were ahead 64-53 by halftime. Portland never trailed in the second half and led by as much as 20.
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