The Sacramento Kings' four-game winning streak came to an end last night against the Portland Trail Blazers. It wasn't what the fans wanted to see, of course, though it wasn't all bad news. Sacramento stayed competitive for most of the game, showing that more victories are on the way.
After a borderline historically bad start to the season, the Kings were stuck in the basement of the Western Conference. During their current home stand, Sacramento won four games in a row for the first time this season, which was only the second time they strung multiple wins together.
It wasn't really a shock that the Blazers were the ones to snap that streak. The Kings faced them in back-to-back games earlier in the season and lost them both. With Portland showing up in Sacramento for another round, there was definitely a sense that a loss was on the way.
Outside of a tough second quarter, the Kings managed to keep it competitive, ultimately losing by seven points. DeMar DeRozan had a much quieter evening than fans are used to seeing, as did Precious Achiuwa, Nique Clifford, and Dennis Schroder. Still, there were some great performances.
The Kings had a solid game regardless of a tough home loss
While it wasn't exactly an efficient shooting game for Zach LaVine, he still picked up 18 points. As always, Russell Westbrook was on his grind, collecting 23 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Brodie put on great show on both offense and defense.
It was also a big evening for the fan-favorite rookie Dylan Cardwell. He completed his first double-double in what was a well-rounded game for the defensive powerhouse. Cardwell ended up fouling out but still finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Starting center Maxime Raynaud also had a tough shooting evening, only going three for 11 from the field. He still managed to pick up six points, nine rebounds, one assist, and one block. It was a respectable overall performance from the rookie, but shooting 27.3% the field is not what you want.
Really, the Kings still played solid basketball last night, just not as well as they had been playing for the last few games. With two more games left in this home stand, Sacramento can hopefully pick up another victory or two before heading out on a six-game road trip against some tough teams.