Portland @ Sacramento preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 25, 2019 ) Portland 122, Sacramento 112

The Sacramento Kings have discovered their offense and they look to post their fourth win in the past five games when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. Sacramento was a torrid 18-of-31 from 3-point range in Friday's win over the Atlanta Hawks and averaged 118 points during a 2-1 road trip.

The Kings struggled during a 0-5 start, dropping games by 32 points to the Utah Jazz and 29 to the Phoenix Suns in addition to a 122-112 loss to the Trail Blazers. A more-balanced approach is working as Sacramento had six players score 13 or more points against Atlanta and the club scored at least 28 points in each quarter. Portland halted a four-game slide on Sunday as it dominated the overtime to produce a 124-113 overtime win over the visiting Hawks. "I don’t think we could have played that five minutes any better than we did when the game was on the line and such a big situation for us," Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard said of outscoring Atlanta 17-6. "So I was just excited for our team."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBATV, NBCS Northwest (Portland), NBCS California (Sacramento)

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (4-6): Lillard had 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists against Atlanta, two nights after scoring a career-best 60 points in a 119-115 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA's second-leading scorer at 33 points per game enjoyed a solid all-around game in last month's win over the Kings when he contributed 35 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Center Hassan Whiteside excelled with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and collected nine rebounds in the win over the Kings and he had a stellar effort against Atlanta with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

ABOUT THE KINGS (3-6): Bench players Bogdan Bogdanovic (5-of-6) and Trevor Ariza (4-of-6) combined for half the 3-point makes against the Hawks and Bogdanovic has made 11-of-17 over the past two games while averaging 21 points during the stretch. "We have really good shooters on our team," Kings coach Luke Walton told reporters. "We know that. ... When our guys are open we want them letting it fly." Point guard De'Aaron Fox is averaging 19.8 points and eight assists over the past six games but sprained an ankle in practice on Monday and will be sidelined for at least three to four weeks.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Trail Blazers won six of the past seven meetings.

2. Sacramento SG Buddy Hield scored 22 against Atlanta for his third straight 20-point outing and sixth of the season.

3. Portland swingman Rodney Hood (back) could miss his second straight game.

PREDICTION: Kings 109, Trail Blazers 107