Portland Trail BlazersOpen full analysis
Sacramento KingsOpen full analysis
Portland outlasted Sacramento 98–93 on December 20 at Golden 1 Center in a defensive struggle that fell well short of the 235.5-point Vegas total. Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 24 points, while Shaedon Sharpe added 23 in a balanced offensive effort; Sacramento countered with Dennis Schröder's 21 points and Malik Raynaud's 17. Portland's three-point shooting proved decisive—the visitors drained 11 threes compared to Sacramento's 6—and shot 43.2 percent overall to the Kings' 37.9 percent. The Blazers' fourth-quarter surge, outscoring Sacramento 26–24 in the final frame after a tied 25–25 third quarter, sealed the road victory despite committing 20 turnovers to Sacramento's 15. Portland's defensive rating of 95.2 held the Kings' offensive rating to 95.2, a mutual stalemate that underscored the low-scoring nature of the matchup. The win marks a critical road victory for Portland's playoff positioning.
