PORTLAND -- The end is here. The push for the postseason fell by the wayside, as did the hopes of finishing the season at .500. The Kings still have a chance to crest the 40-win plateau when they face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday evening at the Moda Center.
The Kings suffered a disappointing loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday evening in their season finale. Harrison Barnes posted 29 points and De'Aaron Fox finished with 24 points and 11 assists, but it wasn't enough to beat a shorthanded Pelicans team.
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Despite a few injuries, the Blazers are finishing the year on a high note after beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday evening. They'll make their sixth straight postseason appearance and are still in play for the third seed in the Western Conference, although they've decided to sit both of their star guards for the evening.
Kings Pregame Live on NBC Sports California begins at 7:00 p.m., with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. All coverage can be seen on the MyTeams by NBC Sports app.
Line
Blazers by 3
Sports
Projected Lineups
Kings
PG De'Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Harrison Barnes
PF Nemanja Bjelica
C Willie Cauley-Stein
Blazers
PG Seth Curry
SG Rodney Hood
SF Al-Farouq Aminu
PF Maurice Harkless
C Enes Kanter
Injury Report
Kings
C Harry Giles (thigh bruise) out, C Kosta Koufos (calf) out.
Blazers
PG Damian Lillard (load management) out, SG C.J. McCollum (load management) out, C Jusuf Nurkic (lower leg injury) out.
Rotation Outlook
Kings
Dave Joerger's group has run out of gas late in the season. They've dropped two straight and are just 6-10 over their previous 16 games.
The Kings' pace of play has suffered recently. They now rank fourth in the NBA in pace after leading for much of it.
After struggling with his 3-point shot in January and February, Bogdan Bogdanovic has found his stroke in March and April. The second-year guard is 40-for-91 (44-percent) from behind the arc over his last 20 games, raising his season average to 36.3 percent.
Hield is now tied with Lillard for the most 3-point makes through his first three seasons with 599.
Blazers
Lillard and McCollum are both expected to sit for Terry Stotts' team on Wednesday evening. The duo combine to score nearly 47 points per game this season and have given the Kings fits in the past.
With both of their guards out, Stotts is likely to turn to Curry and Hood to fill the void.
Nurkic is out for the season with a devastating lower leg injury, but Kanter has stepped in and made a nice impact. In five games in the month of April, the veteran big is averaging 19.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.
