Kings try to blaze Portland at Rose Garden

Portland ended a two-game losing streak with Thursday’s 127-90 win over the Charlotte Bobcats in the opener of the stand. LaMarcus Aldridge scored a career-high 30 points to lead Portland, which found out earlier in the day that Steve Patterson resigned as president and general manager of the team. Tod Leiweke, chief executive officer of the Seattle Seahawks, has taken over in Patterson’s place.

Zach Randolph and Martell Webster each added 20 points in the win for the Trail Blazers, who improved to 14-15 at the Rose Garden this season. Portland, which is 3 1/2 games off a playoff spot in the West, will also host San Antonio and Golden State on the homestand.

The Kings, meanwhile, have won two in a row and will close out a two-game road trip this evening at Portland. On Friday the Kings notched a 116-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, as Mike Bibby scored 33 points and dished out seven assists to lead the way.

Kevin Martin added 20 points and Ron Artest scored 19 for Sacramento, which has won back-to-back games for the first time since a five-game winning streak from January 31 - February 10 this season.

Sacramento is two games off the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, and owns a 9-20 record as the visitor this season.

Saturday’s showdown between Portland and Sacramento is the fourth and final meeting of the season. The Blazers lead the 2006-07 series by a 2-1 count, but Sacramento has won five of the last eight matchups.

The Kings have won two of their last three games at the Rose Garden.