SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings have a second chance to clinch the playoffs on their terms Wednesday night.
After 16 seasons, the Kings are expected to finally clinch a playoff berth. An opportunity to clinch that berth at home, and in front of a raucous crowd at the Golden 1 Center, fell through after they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was one of the more recent clinching scenarios that haven't played out for the Kings.
Saturday was complicated. The Kings needed to beat the Utah Jazz in addition to seeing two other teams lose that same night. An off-court clinching scenario depended on the Timberwolves losing to the Warriors Sunday, but that didn't happen.
By Monday, the Kings needed either a win against the Timberwolves or a loss by either the Phoenix Suns or LA Clippers. Again, neither scenario played out.
Tuesday night, it seemed for a while that the Kings would clinch off the court with a Warriors loss against the New Orleans Pelicans. However, the Warriors came back in the second half and pulled out the win.
Now, it'll be up to the Kings to bust the drought in Portland against the Trailblazers. However, Portland will also be looking to stop a three-game skid.
It'll be the third matchup of the season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Shaedon Sharpe is averaging 8.7 points for the Trail Blazers. Cameron Reddish is averaging 7.7 points over the last 10 games for Portland.
Sabonis is scoring 19.2 points per game and averaging 12.5 rebounds for the Kings. Keegan Murray is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Sacramento.
LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 1-9, averaging 106.8 points, 38.4 rebounds, 21.8 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.9 points per game.
Kings: 6-4, averaging 120.2 points, 43.2 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 5.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.9 points.
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