Deandre Ayton scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 115-106 on Friday night in NBA Cup action.
Anfernee Simons added 21 points, nine assists, and five rebounds, while Deni Avdija contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, and five assists for Portland, which had lost four of its previous five games.
Dalano Banton came off the bench to score 17 points and make five steals. Shaedon Sharpe scored 14 points, and Toumani Camara added 11 points for the Trail Blazers.
Malik Monk scored 29 points and had nine assists off the bench, and De’Aaron Fox chipped in 22 points for Sacramento, which lost its fifth game in the last six. Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, marking his 62nd career triple-double and fourth this season.
Sacramento was missing DeMar Rozan for the second straight game due to a back injury.
The Trail Blazers are 2-1 in NBA Cup West Group A play, while Sacramento is 0-3. The Houston Rockets, with a 3-0 record, have already clinched the group.
Portland shot 51.1 percent from the field, including 29.7 percent from 3-point range (11 of 37). They also dominated in the paint, outscoring Sacramento 64-34.
Portland was without Jerami Grant (knee) and Scoot Henderson (quadriceps).
Sacramento made 44.9 percent of its shots, including 35.7 percent from 3-point range (15 of 42). The Kings also turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 24 points for Portland. Jae Crowder, in his second game with Sacramento, scored 10 points in 21 minutes.
Portland led by four points at halftime, and then scored nine consecutive points to extend their lead to 72-55 after a basket from Simons with 6:34 left in the third quarter.
Banton hit a three-pointer to make it 81-64 with 3:57 remaining in the third, and another three-pointer with 31.8 seconds left gave the Trail Blazers an 87-72 lead heading into the final quarter.
Avdija made a jumper, and Sharpe scored on a layup to push Portland’s lead to 107-88 with 5:27 remaining. Sacramento couldn’t mount a comeback after that.
Ayton and Banton each had 14 points in the first half, and Portland led 54-50 at halftime. Sabonis had 18 points for Sacramento in the half.
