Grant rallies Blazers past Kings 113-108 in opener

Published October 19, 2022 10:46 PM

By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jerami Grant converted a three-point play with 50.4 seconds to play to give Portland the lead and the Trail Blazers spoiled Mike Brown’s coaching debut in Sacramento with a 113-108 win over the Kings. Grant scored 23 points to lead Portland and Anfernee Simons added 22. Damian Lillard scored 20 in his first game back from an abdominal injury that had sidelined him since January. The Kings came into the season with optimism that the hiring of Brown could help end an NBA-record 16-season playoff drought. But they were dealt a loss in the opener despite 33 points from De’Aaron Fox and 23 from Kevin Huerter.