----- Harrison Barnes scored 36 points and De'Aaron Fox finished with 27 points and eight assists as the Sacramento Kings upset the Portland Trail Blazers 124-121 in the season opener Wednesday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Chauncy Billups had his coaching debut spoiled by the Kings Wednesday night at Moda Center.
Harrison Barnes scored 36 points on 8-of-11 shooting from three-point range as Sacramento edged Portland 124-121 in the season opener for both teams.
The Kings led 62-49 at halftime thanks to a 38-26 edge in the second quarter and extended their advantage to 100-85 entering the fourth quarter. The Blazers cut the deficit to 122-121 on a Damian Lillard layup with 11.1 seconds remaining but never could take the lead.
Damian Lillard finished with 20 points and 11 assists but missed all nine of this three-point attempts including a 31-footer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
CJ McCollum led Portland (0-1) with 34 points, Jusuf Nurkic finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Anfernee Simons added 11 points off-the-bench on 5-of-6 shooting.
The Kings finished the night +15 from beyond-the-arc and held a commanding 20-2 edge in transition points.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers host the Phoenix Suns Saturday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- New coach with a new system will require time. The Blazers best basketball is ahead of them.