PORTLAND, Ore. — Anfernee Simons delivered an impressive performance, scoring 30 points, including eight shots from beyond the arc, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 108-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. This win marked the Blazers’ sixth consecutive triumph and their tenth victory in the last eleven games. Shaedon Sharpe supported the effort with 24 points, demonstrating the team’s strong offensive capabilities.

For the Kings, DeMar DeRozan led the scoring with 22 points, but the team struggled, having lost six of their last eight games. The contest was tightly contested from the beginning, with Sacramento edging ahead 91-90 following a jumper and free throw from DeRozan with just over six minutes remaining. However, Sharpe’s timely 3-pointer allowed the Blazers to reclaim the lead, which they maintained for the rest of the matchup.

Jonas Valanciunas made his debut with the Kings, having been acquired in a trade from the Washington Wizards just the day before. He contributed six points and grabbed five rebounds during his first outing with the team. Throughout the game, neither side could establish a significant advantage, with the score tied at 27 after the first quarter and the Blazers holding a narrow 54-50 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Zach LaVine, who joined the Kings in a recent trade, hit a crucial 3-pointer that put Sacramento ahead 60-58 for a brief moment.

In notable developments, the Kings fortified their roster by acquiring Jake LaRavia from the Memphis Grizzlies before the trade deadline. However, Domantas Sabonis faced a setback as he fouled out of the game. Conversely, the Trail Blazers opted not to make any trades prior to the deadline, with GM Joe Cronin stating, “We’re always looking for ways to participate, use windows and find guys that can help us be better. But this time around, we just didn’t find the value.”

A critical moment came when Sharpe’s 3-pointer put Portland ahead 79-77 in the dying seconds of the third quarter, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Simons, extending their margin to 85-79. A key statistic from the game showed that two 3-pointers were negated by the replay center: one from Scoot Henderson in the first half and another from DeRozan in the second.

Looking ahead, the Kings will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, while the Trail Blazers will travel to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on the same day.