By Will Guillory, Anthony Slater and Alex Andrejev
Even without star Zion Williamson, the New Orleans Pelicans completed a 105-98 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, setting up a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Kings, meanwhile, are eliminated from postseason contention.
With Williamson out due to a left hamstring strain suffered in Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pelicans relied on their depth. Six New Orleans players — Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valančiūnas, Trey Murphy III, Larry Nance Jr., Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado — scored double-digit figures. Ingram led the Pelicans with 24 points, while Valančiūnas (19 points) added a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Pelicans found their momentum in the second quarter and carried a 54-45 lead into halftime after committing six turnovers in the first quarter. Sacramento pushed to within seven points late in the third, but New Orleans continued limiting a Kings offense led by De’Aaron Fox, who had a game-high 35 points. Domantas Sabonis added 23 points and a 14 rebounds for Sacramento, but the squad lacked New Orleans’ all-around chemistry on Friday, with the lead ballooning to 20 points with less than seven minutes left.
New Orleans shot 51.8 percent from the field compared to Sacramento’s 40.9 percent. The Pels also shot 36.8 percent from 3, while the Kings were 26.8 from behind the arc.
New Orleans, which secured the eighth seed with the win, will play Oklahoma City in Game 1 on Sunday.
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What worked for New Orleans?
Despite Williamson’s absence, the Pelicans managed to pick up their sixth win over the Kings this year and earn a spot in the playoffs. Ingram had a strong night — accounting for 24 points, six rebounds and six assists — after getting benched in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s loss to the Lakers. His decision-making on the offensive end was exquisite most of the night.
He also got a ton of help from his teammates. Marshall, Alvarado, Nance and Murphy all provided quality minutes. Valančiūnas also held his own in his battle with Sabonis. With Williamson expected to miss at least the first few games of the series against OKC, New Orleans will need the others to continue lifting up BI and CJ McCollum if this team has any chance of putting a scare in the No. 1 seed. — Will Guillory, Pelicans staff writer
What went wrong for Sacramento?
A whole lot. Three nights after scorching the Golden State Warriors from deep, the Kings went 11 of 39 from 3 as a team. Keegan Murray, who hit eight against the Warriors, made only two of his seven and left briefly with a hip issue after an ugly slip and turnover. They were outscored in the paint 56-42, giving up several wide-open dunks in the halfcourt. They turned it over 15 times. They missed seven free throws. Keon Ellis, the Tuesday hero, went scoreless in 27 minutes and was a minus-20. — Anthony Slater, Warriors senior writer
What does this mean for the Kings?
A 46-win season will not end in a playoff appearance. This was still the second-most successful year for the Kings in the last 18. Fox and Sabonis were fringe All-NBA candidates. Murray took a leap defensively and has a bright future as a two-way wing. Ellis is a bargain find. Coach Mike Brown has built a respected culture. But there are fair questions about the ultimate ceiling of this core in a difficult conference. Can they re-sign Malik Monk this summer? Can they use their draft picks to land a bigger piece via trade? Can they jumpstart the offense back to a more potent level while maintaining their defensive improvement? Those are offseason questions. The offseason is here. — Slater
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(Photo: Stephen Lew / USA Today)
