Trail Blazers at Kings
The Portland Trail Blazers will have little time to recover from a difficult loss when they wrap up a quick two-game road trip at the Sacramento Kings on Monday. After winning four straight to end a five-game homestand, the Trail Blazers took the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets to the finish line Sunday night before falling 116-113 as guard Damian Lillard's long shot at the buzzer was off.
The Nuggets shot 55.6 percent from the floor, the third-highest mark for a Portland opponent this season, and seized control with a 35-point third quarter. "The turning point of the game was in the third quarter," Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "They got hot, made six of seven from three. They made a nice run to finish the quarter." The Kings will be trying to finish a perfect three-game homestand after knocking off Detroit and Charlotte to begin their stay at Golden 1 Center. Three players scored at least 21 points and Sacramento held the Hornets to just 38 second-half points in Saturday's 104-97 triumph.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), NBCS California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (26-18): Lillard scored 26 points on Sunday for his best total in a span of eight games, during which he has shot better than 40 percent just twice. The three-time All-Star is 12-for-50 from 3-point range in January, including a 1-of-9 showing in a 113-108 overtime win at Sacramento on New Year's Day. Center Jusuf Nurkic dominated that affair with 24 points, a career-high 23 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and a career-high five steals.
ABOUT THE KINGS (22-21): Sacramento is 7-0 this season when holding an opponent under 100 points, and Saturday's win over Charlotte was the latest example of what this improving team can accomplish when it locks down on that end of the floor. "This was kind of a gritty win. We stuck together, kept competing defensively and got stops," coach Dave Joerger told reporters. "A good win for us." Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting after going 17-of-52 from the floor over his previous four contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kings SG Buddy Hield is averaging 22.3 points in January while shooting 53.4 percent from 3-point range.
2. Blazers SF Maurice Harkless (knee) has missed three straight games and is day-to-day.
3. Portland has won four straight meetings.