SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- One swish after another, Damian Lillard pulled Portland closer. One or two more, and he mightve pulled off one of the NBAs most improbable comebacks this season. DeMarcus Cousins tied a season-high with 35 points to go with 13 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 32 points and the Sacramento Kings held off a furious rally by Lillard to beat the Trail Blazers 123-119 on Tuesday night. "Thats the craziest game Ive ever been a part of," Cousins said. "I could not wait until the end. I dont ever want to be in a situation with the ball in Damian Lillards hands. Im glad we got the win, but that was a scary thing." Cousins and Gay provided the spark for a 32-12 run at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters that put Sacramento ahead by 19 points. Gay fouled out with 4:12 remaining, and the Blazers nearly rallied back. After scoring just 13 points in the third quarter, Portland had 46 points in the final period. Lillard alone scored 26 of his 41 points in the fourth to power Portland within two in the final minute. But the Kings made just enough free throws to hold off the Blazers, who have lost four of their last six games. "That clock was moving very, very slow," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Damian just kept on coming." LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 points and eight rebounds, and Nicolas Batum finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while playing with a fractured left middle finger in Portlands latest loss. The Kings had dropped two straight after beating top contenders Miami and Houston. Sacramento held a players-only meeting on Sunday, and the Kings emerged to knock off another one of the NBAs best. Gay made consecutive 3-pointers, a three-point play and a layup during Sacramentos surge in the fourth. Cousins also put back a rebound and hit a jumper to help the Kings go ahead 102-83 with 7:54 remaining. Sacramento led 117-105 with 1:12 to play when Lillard turned into a one-man wrecking crew. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year made three 3-pointers, a fast-break layup and was fouled shooting another from beyond the arc -- which just rimmed out. He made all three free throws to slice Sacramentos lead to 121-119 with 16.5 seconds left. "Once I make a few, I can get going," Lillard said. Isaiah Thomas hit two free throws before Lillard missed from long range to all but end the comeback. Lillard shot 13 of 24 from the floor and added seven rebounds and four assists. "Hes a competitor and at no time does he ever think hes out of a game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Hes done that a lot in the two years hes been here. Hes a special player." In a matchup between one of the best and one of the worst teams in the West, Sacramento flipped the script on a Blazers team that had cruised through most of its schedule. The Blazers also had beaten the Kings on consecutive nights in November, winning 104-91 in Portland and 96-85 in Sacramento. The Kings started three players who did not start in the two previous games against Portland -- most notably Gay, who was acquired from Toronto in a seven-player trade in early December. That included Marcus Thornton moving back in the starting lineup for Sacramento, replacing seventh overall pick Ben McLemore. Thornton finished with three points and eight rebounds, and McLemore had two points and two assists. The Blazers still outscored Sacramento 35-24 in the first quarter and seemed ready to go 3-0 against the Kings this season. Portland shot 63.2 per cent from the floor and made 10 of 11 free throws in the period. Instead, the Kings opened the second quarter on a 14-5 run led by mostly reserves. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, and the Blazers held a 60-55 lead at the break. Thomas, who had 22 points and eight assists, hit a pair of 3s to highlight a 13-2 spurt for Sacramento to start the third quarter. Portlands topsy-turvy second half just wasnt enough to rally behind Lillard. "I just didnt want to lose the game," Lillard said. "We had some good spurts on offence, then some bad spurts on defence, then bad spurts on offence, and then good defence. We just need to be more consistent. But when it came down to it we still had a chance to win the game. Thats all I was thinking about." NOTES: C.J. McCollum, the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft out of Lehigh, was in Portlands active lineup for the first time this season after fracturing his left foot in training camp. He did not play. "I just didnt think tonight was the night," Stotts said ... The Blazers and Kings meet for the final time this season April 9 in Portland. Wholesale China Jerseys Free Shipping . 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PETERSBURG, Fla.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Magic Johnson wants the Los Angeles Lakers to lose every game this season for their own good.Coach Byron Scott thinks theyre better off learning how to win, and thats just what they did several hours after Magics latest pointed comments.Johnson discussed the struggling Lakers on Tuesday at a promotional appearance in New York, and the Hall of Famer dished out some blunt thoughts on the 16-time champion franchises future.I hope the Lakers lose every game, the former Lakers point guard said. Because if youre going to lose, lose. And Im serious. If youre going to lose, youve got to lose, because you cant be in the middle of the pack. You either have to be great, or youve got to be bad to get a good pick.A few hours later, Scott responded to his former Lakers backcourt mate by stressing the importance of establishing a winning climate surrounding Kobe Bryant. Scott says tanking wouldnt be entertained by the Lakers, whose 6-16 record is tied for the second-worst in the Western Conference.Thats easy to say, but when youre behind the scenes and youre in the trenches and youre coaching, thats not something that you want to do, Scott said. Weve got to go out here and win every game possible. I mean, if you lose games, thats one thing. But to go out and try to lose, thats a different story. I think that sends a message to those guys in there that its going back to that losing mentality. We dont we want to create that here.Bryant scored 32 points in the Lakers 98-95 win over Sacramento on Tuesday night, snapping a three-game skid. Kobe also wants no part of Magics plan.Hes used to being an owner, Bryant said with a laugh. Hes the owner of the Dodgers. He was an owner of the Lakerrs.dddddddddddd Thats speaking from an owners perspective. ... I think the fans — hopefully some of them — are smart enough to understand his perspective as an owner. I certainly am. Magic is one of the most competitive players of all-time. He doesnt want to lose. From where Im sitting, I just look at his point of view.Scott also laughed off the extemporaneous comments by Johnson, his good friend. Johnson was viciously critical of former Lakers coach Mike DAntoni in the previous two seasons, but has pledged to be supportive to Scott and the current team.Under DAntoni, the Lakers finished last season 27-55 — the most losses in franchise history and their worst winning percentage in more than a half-century.While longing for losses, Johnson also expressed optimism about the Lakers salary cap space next summer and their long-term future. He also knows another top draft pick could help: The Lakers chose Julius Randle with the seventh overall pick last year, but the teenager broke his leg on opening night and was lost for the season.The Lakers are in a good space, too (for) next summer if they can sign or trade for a talented guy, Johnson said. So Id rather be all the way bad than be in the middle like we were for a couple of those years we were getting the eighth, 10th, 12th pick. You cant get better by doing that.Scott would rather return the Lakers to success the old-fashioned way.If you go out here and play hard, youll hopefully get rewarded in the right way, Scott said. You can get the type of player that you want, that can come in here and help you the next year in the draft, and free agent-wise. But the last thing on my mind is losing games right now. At least on purpose. ' ' '