Portland, Ore. ? The newly reunited Sacramento Kings couldn’t quite come together in time to beat the newly inspired Portland Trail Blazers.
Damon Stoudamire had 30 points and eight assists and the Blazers beat the Kings 114-108 Saturday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The Blazers (20-26) have won five of their last seven games after a six-game losing streak. Zach Randolph, relegated to the bench as the Blazers searched for answers to their rocky first half, had 28 points and 12 rebounds.
“The whole team has confidence right now that we can win basketball games,” coach Maurice Cheeks.
Sacramento had Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Cuttino Mobley back in the starting lineup, but the Kings appeared out of sync for much of the game.
Webber, who missed four games because of a sore left knee, had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, but at times moved gingerly down the court. He fouled out late in the game.
Stojakovic, who missed the last six games because of back spasms, had 15 points, and Mobley, who missed two games with back spasms, was held to three points.
“We didn’t have any rhythm and the three guys coming back from a week without them,” Kings coach Rick Adelman said. “They took advantage of us.”
Webber’s jumper narrowed it to 99-94 before Stoudamire hit a 22-foot jumper with 2 minutes left. He followed it up by beating Mike Bibby on a driving layup to make it 103-94.
Although Bibby’s 3-pointer with 21.9 seconds left got Sacramento as close as 109-105, it wasn’t enough to overcome the pumped-up Blazers.
“Right now, we’re jelling. It’s definitely a different look than most people are accustomed to, but I think it’s working right now,” said Stoudamire, who is in a starting lineup with fellow guard Nick Van Exel, forwards Ruben Patterson and Theo Ratliff, and center Joel Przybilla.
Trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Kings fared better in the second, squeezing their deficit to 74-71 on Bibby’s jumper midway through the third.
The Kings couldn’t manage to get any closer than three points, and the Blazers extended the lead to 84-74 — closing out the third with Darius Miles’ forceful block of a 4-foot attempt from Maurice Evans.
Bibby led the Kings with 35 points.
“I knew they were going to try to be aggressive, but they still got too many easy baskets and layups,” Bibby said. “Every time we came back, they came back with a run of their own.”
With the starters off to a sluggish start, the Blazers went up 38-20 on Stoudamire’s 3-pointer, with an assist from rookie Sebastian Telfair.
The Kings rallied late in the first half, and went to the break trailing 59-51 on Bibby’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Kings had won their last two games despite the injuries, including Friday night’s 116-115 victory over New York at Arco Arena. Bibby scored a career-high 40 points and Sacramento erased an 11-point deficit in the final 3 1/2 minutes.
The Blazers, also playing the second of back-to-back games, got 23 points from Telfair in a 101-89 victory over Charlotte on Friday night.
Notes: Cheeks, who played for the 76ers, opened his postgame, pre-Super Bowl Sunday press conference with two words: “Go Eagles.” … Blazers guard Derek Anderson dressed for the game but didn’t play. Anderson has been facing a number of issues, including a sinus infection and dental work. He has missed six games. … The Kings were 1-3 against the Blazers last season.
