PORTLAND — Damian Lillard had 36 points and CJ McCollum scored 31 to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Sacramento Kings 122-120 in overtime Friday night.
The teams traded the lead over the final 2 1/2 minutes. Meyers Leonard made two free throws to give Portland a 121-120 edge with 32 seconds remaining, and Rudy Gay missed a jumper at the other end.
Allen Crabbe hit one of two foul shots for the Trail Blazers with 14.3 seconds left, giving the Kings another opportunity. DeMarcus Cousins missed a jumper and Gay was off target on a 16-foot fadeaway at the buzzer, sealing the victory for Portland.
Cousins led Sacramento with 33 points. Gay had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings, who were coming off a 101-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the night before.
McCollum’s 3-pointer with 1:23 left in overtime gave Portland a 117-115 lead before Gay’s three-point play put Sacramento back ahead.
McCollum added a 19-footer to put Portland in front, but a loose ball foul on the Blazers gave Sacramento’s Darren Collison free throws. He made both, giving the Kings a 120-119 lead with 33.8 seconds left.
Leonard made his first start of the season for the Blazers, who were without forward Al-Farouq Aminu for the second straight game because of a left calf injury.
Aminu started the first eight games for the Blazers, averaging 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds before he was hurt Tuesday night early in Portland’s 124-121 win over Phoenix.
Addressing the media before Friday night’s game, Portland coach Terry Stotts said Aminu would be re-evaluated after two weeks.
Leonard’s thunderous dunk put the Blazers up 32-27 late in the first quarter, and they led by 12 en route to a 62-57 advantage at the break. McCollum led all scorers at halftime with 16 points.
Cousins’ fadeaway in the third quarter tied the game at 68, and Gay hit a 3-pointer to put the Kings in front. Lillard nailed a 3 from far outside the arc to give Portland back the lead at 79-76.
The Blazers held an 84-83 edge to start the fourth but fell behind 95-88 after a pair of free throws with 6:31 left. Crabbe’s jumper put Portland in front before Lillard hit another 3 to make it 99-95.
Cousins’ 3-pointer pulled the Kings to 106-104 with less than a minute to go in regulation, and his layup tied it with 9.7 seconds left. Lillard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, and the game went to overtime.
Portland was coming off a 111-80 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
THE TAKEAWAY
Kings: Collison returned to the Kings this week after an eight-game suspension to start the season. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery after an incident at his Sacramento-area home in May.
Trail Blazers: Leonard and Cousins got into it in the first quarter and received offsetting technicals. Cousins has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors of late, including some involving the Blazers. … Portland is 5-0 when Lillard and McCollum both score at least 30 points.
UP NEXT
Portland hosts the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
