The Kings beat the Blazers 121
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points and the Sacramento Kings assured themselves of at least one more home game by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 121-82 in the teams’ regular-season finale on Sunday.
Sacramento will head into the play-in tournament on Tuesday night, hosting Golden State in the ninth versus 10th-place game in the Western Conference. The New Orleans Pelicans will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the No. 7 versus No. 8 matchup.
After snapping an NBA-record long 16-year playoff drought last season, the Kings were in good position to finish in the top six and return to the postseason this year before losing five of six games headed into the season finale. Now they must get in through the play-in tournament without key injured players Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter.
They cruised in the finale against a short-handed Blazers team playing out the string on a lost season. The Kings opened a 20-point lead in the second quarter and never were threatened.