Portland blows past Sacramento

Portland, OR – LaMarcus Aldridge, J.J. Hickson and Damian Lillard each recorded double-doubles, as the Portland Trail Blazers rolled over the Sacramento Kings, 109-91, to conclude a home-and-home set at the Rose Garden.

Aldridge finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, Hickson contributed 17 points and 14 boards, and Lillard had 17 points and 11 assists for Portland, which has won six of its last seven.

Nicolas Batum added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists in the victory.

John Salmons paced Sacramento with 19 points and Isaiah Thomas followed with 12 for the Kings, who have lost seven of their last nine.

"They just got it going and it's hard to stop a team that gets it going at home," said Thomas.

It was a one-possession game over the opening four-plus minutes of action until Batum's four-point play was followed by Hickson going 1-for-2 at the foul line to give the Trail Blazers a 13-8 lead with 7:06 left in the first quarter.

Sacramento answered with a 16-10 trek to go on top, 24-23, on a Salmons layup, but Portland closed out the frame with an 8-2 run to carry a 31-26 advantage into the second quarter.

The Kings managed to tie the game on three separate occasions in the second, but they could not take the lead and after Travis Outlaw's tip-in made it a 37-37 game with eight minutes left in the half, the Trail Blazers outscored Sacramento by a mark of 25-7 to take a 62-44 advantage into the break on Batum's 3-pointer as time expired.

Portland connected on 58.8 percent (10-for-17) of its shots in the decisive second quarter, while holding the Kings to just 30 percent (6-for-20) from the floor.

The Trail Blazers also netted 10 points off six Sacramento turnovers to build their insurmountable lead.

"We didn't change any schemes, I just thought we executed out defense better," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "We made it a priority to keep the ball in front of us, keep the ball out of the paint and our pick-and-roll defense was a little bit better."

Portland then cruised through the second half as the Kings could get no closer than 13 points over the final 24 minutes.

Game Notes

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins did not play in the game despite being reinstated from a team suspension on Monday ... The season series between the teams ended in a 2-2 tie ... Hickson recorded his ninth straight double-double ... Portland held a 50-36 advantage in points in the paint and a 27-11 edge in second chance points.