DeMarcus Cousins was off on Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers, but he roared to life on Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. Cousins put up 28 points on 17 field goal attempts and 10 free throw attempts, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished 4 assists. Marcus Thornton kept his hot shooting going and put up 26 points on 11 of 18 shooting, with four treys.
But despite Sacramento outshooting Portland 53% to 46%, they were undone by not being able to box out (Portland had five more offensive rebounds), not getting to the line (Portland had eight more free throw attempts and eight more free throw makes), and not taking care of the ball (six more turnovers for Sacramento).
Samuel Dalembert forced LaMarcus Aldridge into a horrible 9 for 27 shooting night and grabbed ten boards, but committed some awful turnovers down the stretch. Donte Greene made a poor defensive lapse down the stretch when he double-teamed on Aldridge, leaving Nicolas Batum wide open to stroke the game-deciding three that broke a 95-all tie. Wesley Matthews led Portland with 21 points, Aldridge chipped in 20 points, Andre Miller had 19 points, and Batum put in 17.
This was the first game since the Kings arena name was changed form Arco Arena to Power Balance Pavilion.
For more on the game, check out Sactown Royalty.