by Kings eliminated from NBA Cup after frustrating loss to Blazers, originally broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Kings’ quest for the NBA Cup title will have to be put on hold until next season.
Sacramento is officially eliminated from the NBA season tournament after losing 115-106 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at the Moda Center.
The Kings’ loss to the Blazers leaves Sacramento as the only winless team in Western Conference Group A, currently 0-3 in the tournament’s group stage. Sacramento has a minus-25 point differential in group play.
Malik Monk led the way for the Kings with 29 points, and Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox scored 43 combined, but it was nowhere near enough to overcome a lack of points elsewhere as Sacramento trailed by two digits for the majority of the second. half on Friday.
The Kings’ performance in the league’s second annual season tournament is on par with the rough start Sacramento has had to begin the 2024-25 NBA season, going 9-11 after starting the season with hoping to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Instead, for a quarter of the season, the Kings sit in 12th place in the Western Conference playoff picture, with a steep hill to climb in a conference where even the lowest players present a tough challenge every evening.
Six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan continues to deal with a bad back, missing his fifth game of the season Friday. The Kings are 2-3 without DeRozan, whose absence is evident as Sacramento struggled to generate consistent offense against Portland.
So far, things haven’t gone as planned. Coach Mike Brown digs deep into his bag looking for a spark for his team, including a telling exchange with a referee that earned him a hefty fine.
Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time to right the ship, and the Kings certainly have the pieces needed to put together a run.
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