Kings at Trail Blazers
The Sacramento Kings are putting together a nice little run while the Portland Trail Blazers are spiraling in the wrong direction. Sacramento aims for its fifth straight victory and Portland attempts to halt a six-game losing streak when the teams meet on the Trail Blazers' home floor on Wednesday.
Portland could be without star point guard Damian Lillard (ankle) for the second straight game as it attempts to end a stretch in which it has lost 10 of 11 games. The Trail Blazers certainly missed Lillard on the offensive end on Monday, when they succumbed 95-91 to the Toronto Raptors. Sacramento's season-best winning streak includes Monday's 102-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, a win that greatly impressed Kings star center DeMarcus Cousins. "Guys are really starting to buy in," Cousins said afterward. "We're starting to realize what's going to win games for us and it's not who can score the most points. It's us playing defense, us getting stops in a row. Guys are starting to buy in and we're on the right path."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE KINGS (14-17): Cousins scored 30 points against the 76ers and is averaging a torrid 34.2 points over the past five games. He only collected seven rebounds in the contest but he contributed five assists, three steals and two blocked shots, which impressed veteran point guard Ty Lawson. "He's blocking shots and taking charges," Lawson told reporters. "He's the leader of this team and those are the things you have to do, especially when you're trying to get to the playoffs."
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (13-20): C.J. McCollum served as the point guard on Monday and delivered 29 points while matching his season best of seven assists as the lone offensive player who enjoyed a stellar outing against the Raptors. Portland scored 95 or fewer points in four of the past five games and the first three of those performances came with Lillard, who missed his first contest of the season on Monday. Allen Crabbe was the recipient of extended minutes (35) as the starting shooting guard against Toronto but tallied just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Kings posted a 126-121 home win over the Trail Blazers on Dec. 20 to break their seven-game skid in the series.
2. Sacramento SF Rudy Gay (hip) recorded 17 points and nine rebounds against Philadelphia after missing the previous six games.
3. Portland swingman Evan Turner (ankle) had nine points and five assists against the Raptors after sitting out the previous three contests.