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Despite the best efforts of Beno Udrih and Samuel Dalembert, the Kings fell in a close overtime contest. For more, see Sactown Royalty.
(Sports Network) - The Sacramento Kings return home after a lengthy six-game road trip when they host the injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers tonight.
The Kings finished 1-5 on their recent trek after dropping a 100-98 heartbreaker in Atlanta on Monday when Joe Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining and finished with 36 points, as the Hawks earned a hard-fought win over Sacramento.
Tied at 96-all with 36.7 seconds left in the fourth, Johnson's nifty reverse layup was matched by Tyreke Evans' lay-in that tied things at 98-98 and 11.6 seconds to play.
Out of an Atlanta timeout, Johnson controlled the ball, made his move to the basket and was fouled by Evans with under a second left. Johnson calmly made both free throws to give the Hawks the win.
Rookie DeMarcus Cousins had a team-leading 20 points to go with eight rebounds for the Kings, who have lost two in a row and are a Western Conference-worst 9-30. Beno Udrih and Evans went for 17 and 16 points, respectively, in defeat.
"We played really hard and really well," Sacramento head coach Paul Westphal said. "We just came up short. I'm proud of the effort our guys gave. We have to keep giving that effort."
The Blazers, meanwhile, won their second straight on Monday after LaMarcus Aldridge scored a career-high 37 points with 12 rebounds as Portland continued its dominance over the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 113-102 win at the Rose Garden.
Wesley Matthews finished with 23 points and Andre Miller added 15 points with 10 assists for Portland, which notched its 15th straight win over Minnesota.
"(Aldridge) is carrying this team. Without him, I don't know where we'd be right now," said Portland center Joel Przybilla.
Already without center Greg Oden for the season, Portland announced Monday that All-Star shooting guard Brandon Roy, who has already missed the team's past 16 games with balky knees, had successful arthroscopic surgery on both knees and will remain out indefinitely.
Now, big man Marcus Camby will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week to repair a partial medial meniscus tear in his left knee. A timeline for his return will be set following the surgery later this week.
"The MRI taken earlier today did not show anything significant," said general manager Rich Cho. "However, a more thorough review tonight from our team physician did reveal a partial tear."
The Blazers have won seven straight over the Kings and swept the season series in both 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Andre Miller, Nicolas Batum Lead Blazers Over Beno Udrih, Samuel Dalembert And The Kings
Aykis has a great recap of the Kings-Blazers game over at Sactown Royalty, check it out!
Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Andre Miller made the go-ahead jumper with 1:49 left in overtime, as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied past the Sacramento Kings, 94-90.
Miller ended with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Blazers, who have won three in a row since a three-game skid.
Nicolas Batum added 24 points and six boards for Portland, which got 23 points and nine rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge.
Beno Udrih finished with 20 points and five boards for the Kings, who have dropped three straight and six of seven overall. Tyreke Evans tallied 16 points and eight assists.
Samuel Dalembert had a season-high 15 points and 12 rebounds in defeat.
With the score tied at 90-90 in overtime, Miller made a 17-footer to put Portland in front with 1:49 left.
Each team missed two shots before Evans was off the mark on a running jumper. Batum then made two free throws with 7.6 ticks remaining to give the Blazers a 94-90 lead, and Donte Greene sealed Sacramento's fate by turning the ball over.
Trailing by seven, 81-74, with just over six minutes to play, the Blazers went on an 11-2 run to take the lead.
Aldridge, who started the surge with a dunk, slammed the ball with 3:04 left to make it an 83-83 contest.
With the score still tied with one minute left, Aldridge turned the ball over. Batum, though, blocked Jason Thompson's jumper to give Portland the ball back.
Miller missed a layup and the ball went toward the sideline. Rudy Fernandez made a great diving play to hit the ball off Udrih with 48.5 seconds left.
Miller capped the burst with a baseline jumper to give the Blazers an 85-83 edge with 33 ticks to go. But Carl Landry made two shots from the foul line to tie the game with 26.2 seconds remaining.
Aldridge missed a 14-footer with the clock winding down, and Omri Casspi's full-court heave was off the mark as time expired.
The Kings quickly jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Portland surged back to cut its deficit to 26-21 after 12 minutes of action.
The Blazers outscored Sacramento, 25-22, to cut the gap to 48-46 at the break.
Portland scored the first five points of the third to take a 51-48 edge. The rest of the period was close, which resulted in a 65-65 tie heading to the fourth.
The Blazers have won eight straight over the Kings...Portland center Marcus Camby will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a partial medial meniscus tear in his left knee Thursday...Sacramento forward Francisco Garcia (calf) missed the game...Casspi ended with 10 points and 11 rebounds...Fernandez had 13 points and five assists.
Jan 20 1:06a by Avinash Kunnath - 0 comments