Blazers come up short at Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Marcus Thornton made four 3-pointers and scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 117-100 on Monday night.

DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Kings. Jason Brooks added 16 points, James Johnson had 12, and Jimmer Fredette and Tyreke Evans 11 each.

Cousins came off the bench midway through the fourth to help boost the Kings. He scored six consecutive points, the final one a fastbreak layup that put Sacramento (2-0) ahead 107-93 with 5:06 left.

Rookie point guard Damien Lillard scored 20 points for Portland (1-2). LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and seven rebounds, Nicolas Batum scored 14, and Wesley Matthews and J.J. Hickson had 11 each.

Evans helped keep the Kings lead in double digits in the third quarter by scoring on a variety of drives to the basket. He had nine points and the Kings went into the fourth quarter ahead 91-78.

Lillard connected on three 3-pointers early in the third to rally Portland and scored 11 points in the quarter.

After a productive 10-point first half, Cousins picked up four personal fouls and a technical and went to the bench midway through the third quarter.

The Kings started offseason pickup Brooks at point guard and the move had immediate benefits. Brooks made two 3s and had 12 first-quarter points in helping Sacramento to a 62-42 halftime lead.

KINGS 117, TRAIL BLAZERS 100

PORTLAND (100) — Batum 5-16 2-2 14, Aldridge 5-15 6-6 16, Freeland 0-1 2-2 2, Lillard 7-14 2-2 20, Matthews 3-8 5-7 11, Hickson 4-8 3-3 11, Smith 2-4 2-2 6, Pavlovic 2-4 0-0 5, Babbitt 3-5 0-0 8, Barton 2-3 0-0 4, Leonard 1-1 1-2 3, Morrison 0-2 0-0 0, Claver 0-0 0-0 0, Lauderdale 0-1 0-0 0, Karl 0-2 0-0 0, Harper 0-1 0-0 0, Holiday 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-85 23-26 100.

SACRAMENTO (117) — Outlaw 2-5 0-0 4, Thompson 1-3 5-7 7, Cousins 9-13 2-2 20, Brooks 6-8 2-3 16, Evans 4-9 3-3 11, Johnson 6-9 0-0 12, Robinson 0-4 0-0 0, Thornton 8-11 3-4 23, Thomas 1-5 0-0 3, Hayes 2-3 0-0 4, Garcia 2-4 0-0 6, Fredette 3-6 3-4 11, Ndiaye 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-80 18-23 117.

Portland 22 20 36 22–100

Sacramento 31 31 29 26–117

3-Point Goals–Portland 9-29 (Lillard 4-8, Babbitt 2-4, Batum 2-9, Pavlovic 1-3, Karl 0-1, Matthews 0-2, Smith 0-2), Sacramento 11-22 (Thornton 4-5, Brooks 2-3, Fredette 2-3, Garcia 2-4, Thomas 1-2, Outlaw 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Cousins 0-1, Evans 0-2). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Portland 50 (Hickson, Aldridge 7), Sacramento 45 (Cousins, Hayes 7). Assists–Portland 19 (Batum 5), Sacramento 22 (Thomas, Hayes 4). Total Fouls–Portland 19, Sacramento 23. Technicals–Pavlovic, Portland defensive three second, Cousins, Sacramento Coach Smart, Sacramento defensive three second. A–9,328 (17,317).