Kings get it done down the stretch

Blazers lose fifth straight

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Feb 19, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

It came down to this Tuesday night at the Rose Garden: The No. 10 and No. 11 teams in the Western Conference went head to head, and No. 11 prevailed.

Lofty expectations emanating from December’s 13-game win streak have given way to reality, which was apparent in Sacramento’s 105-94 victory over the Trail Blazers.

It was the fifth loss in a row and the 12th in 18 games for Portland (28-25), which slipped five games out of eighth place in the West and four games behind No. 9 Golden State. The Blazers are 6 1/2 games behind Utah (35-19) and five games back of Denver (33-20) in the Northwest Division.

“I hate to say it, but you do get down,” said forward Travis Outlaw, who led the Blazers with 23 points. “You’re disappointed at yourself. We know we’re better than this. When we showed we can win that (13) in a row, expectations become high on each other.

“We’re just hoping we can pull together. Since we’re young, it’s hard, but we have to figure something out.”

The Blazers have their sights on the teams ahead of them, but the one just below them in the standings dominated the second half Tuesday night.

The Kings (24-28) battered Portland on the boards 19-7 in the third quarter, then put up 35 points in the fourth period to negate an electric shooting display by Blazer reserves Outlaw and Martell Webster.

Outlaw and Webster scored 13 points apiece in the quarter and combined for Portland’s final 26 points of the game. The only other Blazer scoring came on a Jarrett Jack three-point play to start the period.

Sacramento won the rebound battle 45-37, including 29-16 in the second half, and grabbed a dozen off the offensive glass.

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