What we learned as Darius Acuff Jr. bounces back in Kings' loss to Trail Blazers

What we learned as Darius Acuff Jr. bounces back in Kings' loss to Trail Blazers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO — The Kings were committed to displaying a better showing in front of their home crowd Friday night than what they showed in their season-opening loss two nights ago.

While they kept their promise, they still seek their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season after a second-half collapse to the Trail Blazers, falling to Portland by a final score of 128-120 at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings’ defense looked far better in the first half. But basketball is a four-quarter game, and Portland exposed all of Sacramento’s defensive weaknesses in the second half. The Blazers opened the third quarter on a 15-0 run, and the Kings’ once-12-point lead evaporated. Portland scored 44 points in the third quarter.

Sacramento put up a good fight in the fourth quarter, led by a promising effort from rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr.

Acuff played his first official NBA game in front of his home crowd. Like the rest of the team, he struggled Wednesday in LA, and wanted to make up for it Friday. He finished with a game-high 33 points, two rebounds and four assists.

Malik Monk made his season debut, but he struggled in uncharacteristic ways on Friday. He played just 12 minutes but went scoreless (0-for-6).

Do-it-all Domantas Sabonis picked up his first triple-double of the season with 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.

Zach LaVine continued his efficient start to the season, pouring in 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting, with three 3-pointers, five rebounds, one assist and two steals in 39 minutes.

Here are the takeaways from the loss:

Acuff’s NBA debut didn’t go as he had hoped.

The rookie point guard struggled mightily to shoot the ball in Sacramento’s season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-24 shooting and missing all seven of his 3-point attempts. He also was 2 of 5 from the free-throw line.

Acuff is his own biggest critic, though, and immediately acknowledged he has to be better.

And he was.

He still didn’t have the most efficient shooting night, shooting 10 of 26 from the field, but his confidence never wavered. He also made his first and second 3-pointers. However, his scoring ability never was the real issue for the Arkansas product. It was his lack of playmaking and getting others involved that worried some in the season opener.

Acuff was much better in that department on Friday. He finished with 33 points, two rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes. He led what almost was a fourth-quarter comeback, adding 11 points in the final frame.

The Kings’ defense allowed 41 points in the first quarter of the season in Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers.

The unit looked lost, played lazy and, frankly, the effort was minimal.

Coach Christie made that point of emphasis leading into Friday’s game. And for most of the night — outside of that third quarter — Sacramento’s defense was dramatically better.

It was far from perfect, but the energy and effort were there. And that’s all Christie has ever asked for.

Domantas Sabonis was back doing what he does best: a little bit of everything.

Sabonis, who played just 19 games last season after dealing with a knee injury, knows how special it is to be on the court playing the game he loves.

He won’t take that for granted, and that was evident Friday night.

The 6-foot-11 big man was flawless in the first half, already flirting with a triple-double after two quarters.

He finished with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in 38 minutes.