Numbers Reveal How the Kings Broke Their 4-Game Losing Streak

The Sacramento Kings began their game Thursday night in tenth place in the Western Conference standings, as a Dallas Mavericks victory earlier in the day put them percentage points ahead of Sacramento. Perhaps that was a motivating factor for the team, as the Kings played the best basketball we’ve seen from them in the last several games.

Malik Monk was back on the floor, Keegan Murray picked up where he left off on Tuesday night, and Zach LaVine’s aggressiveness on the offensive end returned in a big way. All three of these factors - and several more - contributed to the Kings’ 128-107 blowout of the Portland Trail Blazers.

FINAL: Kings defeat the Trail Blazers 128-107.

👑 Zach LaVine: 29 PTS, 2 REB
👑 Domantas Sabonis: 22 PTS, 19 REB, 6 AST
👑 DeMar DeRozan: 21 PTS, 10 AST, 2 REB
👑 Keon Ellis: 10 PTS, 6 STLS 3 REB

Kings Win presented by @RedHawkCasino pic.twitter.com/Ohcqrt4c1l
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 28, 2025

The Kings took control of the game early in the first quarter and never looked to be in trouble throughout the rest of the game. The Blazers played well enough to avoid being completely run off the floor, but Sacramento gave a strong, consistent performance for all four quarters of the game. Let’s look at some of the key numbers from the Kings’ victory.

Kings vs Trail Blazers - By the Numbers

39.8 - First and foremost, Sacramento played very well on the defensive end of the floor in this game, as they held Portland to just 39.8% shooting from the field overall. The Kings did an excellent job of rotating to the ball, contesting shots, clogging passing lanes, and generally making life difficult for the Blazers offense.

Keon Ellis spearheaded the defensive effort with 6 steals, and Sacramento forced Portland into multiple 24-second shot clock violations in the game. The Blazers only shot 32% from behind the three point line for the game, and the Kings held them to even worse (24%) three point shooting in the first half as they built an 18-point lead.

64.9 - On the other end of the court, the Kings shot a season-high 64.9% from the field. In a departure from their recent play, Sacramento did not rely on either hot shooting from beyond the arc or individual shot creation to put points on the board. Instead, the Kings used pace, excellent ball movement, and off-ball cuts and screens to get high-percentage shots.

Kings shot 64.9% from the floor in tonight's win over Portland - the 4th-highest field goal percentage in a single game in franchise history, and the highest by the Kings since Mar. 20, 2001, against Houston (65.4%).

The Kings are 20-5 when shooting .500 or better from the…
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 28, 2025

Sacramento pushed the ball up the court much more often than they have in recent games, leading to 24 fast-break points. The Kings also attacked the paint early and often, from the Domantas Sabonis jump hook that opened the scoring to Markelle Fultz’s floater with 1:22 left in the game. The Kings’ relentless pressure led to 60 points in the paint on 30-for-35 shooting.

29 - Welcome back, Zach LaVine. In his previous four games, LaVine shot 38% from the floor and 26% from the three-point line, averaging just 14.3 points per game. Beyond the numbers, LaVine simply had very little impact on those games, to the point of being virtually invisible for long stretches.

Zach LaVine's first half vs. Por ⤵️

🔥 20 PTS
🔥 75 % FG
🔥 50% 3-PT FG pic.twitter.com/DCcRQWZsq3
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 28, 2025

On Thursday night, LaVine was looking for his shot early and showed the energy and explosiveness that had been missing from his game lately. LaVine was 3-for-4 from the field for 7 points in the first quarter, and ended the game 13-for-18 for a game-high 29 points. Particularly in the first half, LaVine set the tone for the Kings' offense and the rest of the team responded.

1 - The number of three-point shots made by Domantas Sabonis. Granted, it was only one, but it was an important one. In part because of two injuries that cost him a total of nine games, you have to go all the way back to the Kings’ loss to the Golden State Warriors on February 21st to find the last three-pointer that Sabonis made. In the seven games Sabonis had played since, he was 0-for-14 from behind the line.

Beyond the confidence boost of finally seeing a three-point shot fall for him, Sabonis had a monster game against Portland. The Kings’ center put up a dominant line of 22 points, 19 rebounds, and 6 assists. This was certainly his best all-around game since the triple-double he recorded against the Phoenix Suns on March 14th.

The final two spots in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament are very much up for grabs at this point in the season, and there are three teams competing for those spots. One team will have their season end earlier than they would have hoped. The Kings showed tonight that they intend to avoid that fate.

Sacramento put forth a tremendous effort on both ends of the floor against Portland. They’ll need more of the same on their upcoming six-game road trip that begins in Orlando on Saturday.

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Kings vs Trail Blazers - By the Numbers

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