The Sacramento Kings pulled off a pretty sizable upset on NBA opening night against the Portland Trail Blazers. On the road at the Moda Center, the Kings won 124-121 as the Trail Blazers almost pulled off a big comeback.
Sacramento led by as many as 18 points, taking control of the game in the second quarter by opening up a 13 point lead at halftime. The lead was 15 heading into the fourth quarter before the Trail Blazers attempted their comeback but fell just short.
The Kings received good performances from multiple players, as four guys scored at least 17 points, three of whom scored 21 or more. The person who paced the team was Harrison Barnes, who poured in 36 points.
That was a career-high point total for Barnes, who reached it by knocking down a career-best eight 3-pointers on the night. He was an excellent 8-of-9 from the foul line as well, as Portland just didn’t have an answer for the former Tar Heel product. His last two helped seal the game, which led to a Damian Lillard 3-pointer at the buzzer that went awry.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Marvin Bagley III Wants No Part Of Kings — Trade Coming?
Head coach Luke Walton has presented an interesting challenge for Barnes. He wants him to fire away from deep and that challenge will stick as long as he is as hot from the perimeter as he was against Portland.
“I’ve challenged Harrison, I want him to get eight threes up a night. He’s a very good shooter, and there’s no reason he can’t make those shots,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “We needed all those points tonight. And that’s really how we want to see Harrison playing all the time.”
Barnes is one of the veterans that the Kings will be relying on throughout the season. His name has been mentioned in trade rumors in the past, as contending teams would love to add the sharpshooting versatile wing to their mix as well.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Marvin Bagley III Wants No Part Of Kings — Trade Coming?
Teammate Richaun Holmes spoke highly of Barnes as well, mentioning the work that he puts in to perform at the level in which he does.
“Harrison, everybody in the team will tell you, he’s always putting his work in. He’s getting his work in early, late, so we expect that from him,” Holmes said. “The amount of work he puts in, we expect nothing less from him. He can be that type of player for us every night and we have the ultimate trust in him.”
Harrison Barnes isn’t going to score 36 points and knock down eight 3-pointers every night, but you can be sure that he will be among the top scorers on Sacramento night in and night out. The Sacramento Kings will need it, as there are a lot of people on the hot seat in the organization.
