Jerami Grant scored 23 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers closed the fourth quarter on a 16-4 run to beat the Sacramento Kings 115-108 in the season opener for both teams at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings went on a 13-5 run to lead 104-99 with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter. Grant’s driving layup put the Trail Blazers ahead for good with 50 seconds left.
Josh Hart’s reverse layup with 22.2 seconds left made it 110-106, and Damian Lillard’s 2 free throws with 14.1 seconds left put it away at 113-108.
During clutch time, the Trail Blazers outscored the Kings 15-7. Anfernee Simons scored 5 of the Trail Blazers’ 15 on 2 for 4 shooting.
Simons scored 22 points, and Lillard added 20 points and 8 assists but shot 5 for 18. The Trail Blazers had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Kings, De'Aaron Fox had 33 points and 7 assists, and Kevin Huerter added 23 points (18 on 6 3-pointers) on 8 for 12 shooting in his first game with the Kings.
The Trail Blazers grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to the Kings’ 4 and outscored them 56-38 in the paint. The Trail Blazers’ starters were outscored 39-29 in 14 minutes together. Domantas Sabonis fouled out.