The Portland Trailblazers forward Robert Covington tried prying the ball out of the hands of the Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica during first half action Thu Mar 4, 2021’s contest in Portland (AP News photo)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
The day has finally arrived for Kings players. That day is the end of the first half of the 2021 season. The first half of the season has been very up and down for the Kings. They went on a streak of winning 7-8 games, and also a nine game losing streak. It was really a tale of two teams.
On Thursday night, the Kings would suit up for the last time before the All Star break. It would be the second night of a back to back after playing in Sacramento against the Lakers the night before.
In Wednesday’s game, the King battled. It wasn’t the cleanest game of all time but the Kings did manage to pull out the win against the Lakers. Granted, the Lakers were without their stars Lebron James and Anthony Davis. The Kings managed to win 123-120.
Thursday night, the Kings would be on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland. Tip-off was set for 7 PM PST. Only to lose it in a close well battled game between the two clubs with the Blazers winning 123-114.
In the first half, the Kings played well. They didn’t allow the Blazers to take a large lead and kept the game close. The Kings were out scored 30-27 in the first quarter as they looked to solidify the defensive end of the floor.
In the second quarter, The Kings and Blazers both scored 29 points to send the game into halftime with a 59-56 lead over the Kings. The Kings would look to continue the decent defense in the second half to keep the game close.
In the second half, the Kings pulled ahead early. After the third quarter, in which the Kings out scored the Blazers 34-30, the Kings offense began to show life. It would be up to the defense in the fourth quarter to contain Damion Lillard and come away with a win.
That wasn’t to happen. The Blazers out scored the Kings 34-29 in the final quarter to beat the Kings. The Kings played sloppy offense in the final minute which ultimately cost them the game.
Lillard finished the game with 44 points and the Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox who had 32. This was the Kings final game before the All Star break and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some roster moves when the next Kings game takes place.
Up next: The All Star break will last until Thursday March 11th when the Kings welcome in the Houston Rockets at 7 PM PST in Sacramento.
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