The Portland Trail Blazers postseason hopes took a serious hit Thursday night with a 128-107 loss to Sacramento on the road.
The loss hurt their chances even more with Sacramento being one of the teams they were trying to catch in the Western Conference standings.
The Blazers held the lead briefly in the game’s opening minutes, but spent most of the night chasing from behind by a double-digit margin.
Malik Monk hit a 3-pointer, followed by Domantas Sabonis with a reverse layup to stretch the Kings lead to 21 points late in the third quarter, and Portland would never get close.
Deni Avdija led Portland with 24 points, while Shaedon Sharpe added 22.
The loss clinches a losing season for Portland (32-42) and leaves them four games out of the play-in chase with only eight games remaining.
The Trail Blazers are back in action Sunday at the New York Knicks.
