is deep into a preparation.ddddddddddddHes vibrant and happy and has four sound joints which is always a plus.Portelli has no co

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard thinks his Portland Trail Blazers lack that killer instinct to put away games when they should.Lillard had 36 points and CJ McCollum scored 31 to lead Portland past the Sacramento Kings 122-120 in overtime Friday night.The victory could have come easier, though. The Blazers were up 106-101 with 1:19 to go in regulation, yet nearly let this one slip away.It comes down to just manning up, Lillard said.Still, hell take the win after the teams traded the lead over the final 2 1/2 minutes in the extra period.Meyers Leonard made two free throws to give Portland a 121-120 edge with 32 seconds remaining, and Rudy Gay missed a jumper at the other end.Allen Crabbe hit one of two foul shots for the Trail Blazers with 14.3 seconds left, giving the Kings another opportunity. DeMarcus Cousins missed a jumper and Gay was off target on a 16-foot fadeaway at the buzzer, sealing Portlands seventh straight victory over Sacramento.Its just having that killer instinct and being able to lock in for longer spans of time, Lillard said about what the Blazers are missing 10 games into the season.Portland coach Terry Stotts agreed: I think weve played well in spots. Our goal is to play well for longer periods.Cousins led Sacramento with 33 points. Gay had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings, who were coming off a 101-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the night before.McCollums 3-pointer with 1:23 left in overtime gave Portland a 117-115 lead before Gays three-point play put Sacramento back ahead.McCollum added a 19-footer to put Portland in front, but a loose ball foul on the Blazers gave Sacramentos Darren Collison two free throws. He made both, giving the Kings a 120-119 lead with 33.8 seconds left.Cousins said Sacramentos issues have mirrored Lillards assessment of his own team.Throughout this whole season weve shown flashes of who we can be, but weve got to get past that stage of showing flashes and be the team that we want to be, Cousins said.Leonard made his first start of the season for the Blazers, who were without forward Al-Farouq Aminu for the second straight game because of a left calf injury.Aminu started the first eight games for the Blazers, averaging 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds before he was hurt Tuesday night early in Portlands 124-121 victory over Phoenix.Addressing the media before Friday nights game, Stotts said Aminu would be re-evaluated after two weeks.Leonards thunderous dunk put the Blazers up 32-27 late in the first quarter, and they led by 12 en route to a 62-57 advantage at the break. McCollum led all scorers at halftime with 16 points.Cousins fadeaway in the third quarter tied the game at 68, and Gay hit a 3-pointer to put the Kings in front. Lillard nailed a 3 from far outside the arc to give Portland back the lead at 79-76.The Blazers held an 84-83 edge to start the fourth but fell behind 95-88 after a pair of free throws with 6:31 left. Crabbes jumper put Portland in front before Lillard hit another 3 to make it 99-95.Cousins 3-pointer pulled the Kings to 106-104 with less than a minute to go in regulation, and his layup tied it with 9.7 seconds left. Lillards 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.Portland was coming off a 111-80 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.THE TAKEAWAYKings: Collison returned to the Kings this week after an eight-game suspension to start the season. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery after an incident at his Sacramento-area home in May.Trail Blazers: Leonard and Cousins got into it in the first quarter and received offsetting technicals. Cousins has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors of late, including some involving the Blazers. ... Portland is 5-0 when Lillard and McCollum both score at least 30 points.BLOWING THE WHISTLECousins cant understand why hes not getting foul calls.I dont understand it, he said. I dont know what I have to do. I just dont understand it. I have to play through a lot. Im not really rewarded for it, but Im just trying to stay mentally strong through it.PERFECT 10Lillard has 306 points, most by a Trail Blazers player in the opening 10 games of a season. Hes also the first to score 30 or more points six times in the first 10 games of a season.UP NEXTKings: Sacramento hosts San Antonio next Wednesday.Trail Blazers: Portland hosts the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Custom Kings Jerseys . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Rob Blake Jersey Large ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. http://www.customnhlkingsjersey.com/ . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Wholesale Custom Kings Shirts . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Kings Jerseys China . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Rebel Dane is breathing a lot easier these days and so is his trainer.Gary Portelli credits a successful throat operation and a change in his training methods with getting the horse back to Group One winning form which he hopes he can transfer to the big stage in Hong Kong.Rebel Danes win in the Manikato Stakes earned him an invitation to the International Sprint at Sha Tin on December 11.The seven-year-old will tune up for the trip with a barrier trial at Rosehill on Tuesday which will be held on the course proper as a mark of respect for Australias lone representative at this years showcase meeting in Hong Kong.Rebel Dane took three years from his first Group One win in the Rupert Clarke Stakes to win his second with many near misses in between.He can breathe normally now and he turns up on race day, Portelli said.And Ive got no doubt the way we are training him has helped. He has gone over a few jumps and weve been taking him to the beach and the change of scenery has sharpened him up.Att the moment he is the best Ive had him this deep into a preparation.ddddddddddddHes vibrant and happy and has four sound joints which is always a plus.Portelli has no concerns about how Rebel Dane will handle the trip to Hong Kong on December 4, a week before the big race.Hes done many trips to Melbourne and Brisbane on a float so I think a plane to Hong Kong will be much easier, he said.There are no traffic lights or turns. It will be a breeze.A seven-year-old, Rebel Dane has earned more than $2.4 million but attempts to find a suitable home at stud have so far come to nothing.And if a stud cant be found, Portelli is more than happy to keep him in his Warwick Farm stable.Hes part of the furniture and I hate to think about the day he retires, he said.Id be happy to keep training him for another year.A field of six will take part in Tuesdays 1000m barrier trial. ' ' '