Deandre Ayton recorded 26 points and nine rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers cruise to a 115-106 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Friday night in NBA Cup action.
Anfrenee Simons had 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds and Deni Avdija added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Portland, which dropped four of its previous five games.
Dalano Banton had 17 points and five steals off the Trail Blazers’ bench. Shaedon Sharpe tallied 14 points and Toumani Camara had 11.
Malik Monk had 29 points and nine assists and De’Aaron Fox contributed 22 points for Sacramento, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his 62nd career triple double and fourth of the season.
The Kings were without DeMar Rozan (back) for the second straight game.
The Trail Blazers are 2-1 in NBA Cup West Group A play while Sacramento is 0-3. The Houston Rockets (3-0) have already clinched the group.
The Trail Blazers shot 51.1 percent from the field, including 11 of 37 (29.7 percent) from 3-point range. Portland held a 64-34 edge in points in the paint.
Portland played without Jerami Grant (knee) and Scoot Henderson (quadriceps).
Sacramento made 44.9 percent from its shots, including 15 of 42 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc, and committed 20 turnovers that led to 24 Portland points. Jae Crowder scored 10 points in 21 minutes in his second game since signing with the Kings.
Portland led by four points at halftime and later ran off nine consecutive points to take a 72-55 lead on a basket by Simons with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Banton connected on a trey to make it 81-64 with 3:57 left in the quarter. He buried another one with 31.8 seconds remaining as the Trail Blazers took an 87-72 lead into the final stanza.
Avdija hit a 12-footer and Sharpe drove for a layup to give Portland a 107-88 advantage with 5:27 left. Sacramento was unable to make a valid charge after that.
Ayton and Banton scored 14 points apiece as the Trail Blazers led 54-50 at the break. Sabonis had 18 in the half for Sacramento.
–Field Level Media