“When a match is in front of you, it's up for grabs and you're not going to get it, it's really disappointing. » These words from Mike Brown, the Kings coach, sum up Sacramento's defeat in Portland quite well.
Because with 108 points scored per game, as well as an inability to start games well, the Blazers are one of the worst attacks in the league. However, they stuck 130 points on the Kings, including 104 after three quarters! This total represents their new season record.
“It’s clear that we weren’t good defensively,” can only regret the coach for NBC Sports. “It’s been our Achilles heel for a while now. We took 130 points at 50% shooting success and we let their bench be very good. So it was going to be a long evening. »
The Blazers bench on fire
In detail, the Blazers' replacements scored 65 points (compared to only 17 for those of the Kings), including 25 for Duop Reath and 17 for Scoot Henderson and Jabari Walker. From then on, De'Aaron Fox's 43 points and Domantas Sabonis' 34 were not enough. Especially when the Californians shoot 23% 3-point success.
“Basically, we have to score,” assures Mike Brown. “But like the other players in the group, Fox and Sabonis didn't do a good job on defense. I know these two know how to score points, but the question is stops. Can we do it collectively? Can we take care of the ball? Can we avoid sending them to the free throw line? »
On these last two points, the Kings only lost ten balls in Oregon, which is still not too many. On the other hand, they committed 16 fouls and the Blazers were precise on free throws, with a 16/20 in this exercise. It is also and above all a third defeat in four matches for the Californians.
