Sacramento @ Portland preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2018 ) Portland 118, Sacramento 100

Damian Lillard scored 50 points the last time he faced Sacramento and the All-Star point guard is riding a hot streak as the Portland Trail Blazers enter Tuesday's contest against the visiting Kings. Lillard is averaging 32 points this month with three games of 40 or more points and the best outing came when he made eight 3-pointers in a 118-100 victory over the Kings on Feb. 9.

Lillard recorded 40 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 106-104 victory over the Suns and is the driving force behind a hot streak in which Portland has won 12 of its last 17 games. The Trail Blazers are in fifth place in the Western Conference and eyeing an opportunity to overtake the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves with 10 of their next 12 games at home. "There's a lot of games left, a lot of teams trying to make that final push," Lillard told reporters. "We know that as long as we take it a game at a time, keep our mind in the right place like it has been, we control where we end up." Sacramento has lost four straight games and eight of its past 10 after falling 118-100 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

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

ABOUT THE KINGS (18-42): Center Willie Cauley-Stein's athleticism gives him a matchup edge over Portland big man Jusuf Nurkic and that has been evident in this season's three meetings in which Cauley-Stein averaged 19.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocked shots. With Sacramento out of the playoff chase, the organization has decided to increase the playing time for youngsters so 36-year-old power forward Zach Randolph (team-best averages of 14.8 points and seven rebounds) was held out Monday and his status for Portland isn't yet known. Randolph's absence allowed 21-year-old Skal Labissiere to receive the start and he posted his second-highest scoring output of the campaign with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (34-26): Lillard has made at least one 3-pointer in 42 consecutive games to match the franchise mark he set last season and he is 40 makes away from reaching 200 for the fourth time in his career. He also knocked down 54 straight free throws before missing one against Phoenix and is miffed to explain his recent strong outputs, which include a 36.3 scoring average over the past five games. "I think I've had some pretty good stretches where I've played good basketball but didn't score as many points maybe," Lillard explained. "But I think it's just my mentality: whatever I've got to do to get the team to where we need to be, continue to move up in the West and make our playoff run. I'm going to do whatever I need to do."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Trail Blazers have won 10 of the past 12 meetings.

2. Sacramento SG Garrett Temple (lower back) sat out versus Minnesota and is questionable for Tuesday's game.

3. Portland SG CJ McCollum has recorded four straight 20-point outings and reached the mark in eight of the past 10 contests.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 131, Kings 112