Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans
Monday, November 20, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22300222
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 29 37 34 29 129SAC 31 22 16 24 93
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Ingram, Williamson power the Pelicans to a 129-93 win over Pacific Division-leading Kings
NEW ORLEANS -- — Brandon Ingram hit all five of his 3-pointers and led all scorers with 31 points, and Zion Williamson dominated the paint by scoring 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 129-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
“Tonight was a glimpse of what we could be,” said New Orleans coach Willie Green, who was especially pleased with the Pelicans’ season-high 38 assists. “Z (Williamson) and B.I. (Ingram) are capable of doing this, night in and night out. It’s good to see them continue to grow and play off each other.”
Ingram said his offensive synergy with Williamson will continue to grow as the two stars get more playing time together. Injuries have short-circuited that in the last three seasons.
“It’s just communication,” Ingram said. “If somebody has it going, you’re going to let him keep going. I got it going (in the third quarter). There’s enough time on the basketball clock, and it’s being patient and getting the best shot on the floor. We both have time to attack and play with each other.”
The Pelicans trailed 47-43 midway through the second quarter and used a 44-10 scoring outburst spanning the second and third quarters to build an 87-57 lead.
Harrison Barnes scored 16 points and De’Aaron Fox 14 for Pacific Division-leading Sacramento. Fox and Donatus Sabonis, who finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, did not play in the fourth quarter.
Fox refused to place blame on the Kings playing the second game of a back-to-back after a 129-113 win at Dallas on Sunday.
“I mean, pull nothing from this," he said. "Back-to-backs are normal. We just didn’t have a good game. Credit to them. They came out, they had a good game, and we just played bad. But, at the end of the day, you have games like this, you try to throw that away, and we see them again in two days. So (we’re) just trying to prepare for that one.”
Keegan Murray injured his lower back and did not play in the second half. Guard Chris Duarte sustained a left hand injury and did not return for the Kings.
“From the start to the end, they kicked our behind,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown said. “We did not show any resistance at all, no matter who we threw out there. Zion was a ... man tonight, and we had no answers for him at all. Obviously, Brandon Ingram got hot in the second half, but … we couldn’t do anything with Zion tonight.”
Ingram had 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including all four of his 3s, as New Orleans outscored Sacrament 34-16 third quarter and snapped the Kings’ six-game winning streak.
Williamson, who missed Saturday’s game against Minnesota for rest, had 18 points in the second quarter, shooting 8 for 11 as the Pelicans outscored the Kings 37-22 to take a 66-53 halftime lead.
While Ingram struck from the outside, Williamson did his damage inside on drives to his left against an overloaded Sacramento defense that couldn’t handle him.
“It’s definitely a lot of progress that’s been made,” Williamson sad. “We both want the same thing, but we haven’t been on the court a lot. The more were on the court together, the more our chemistry will build in real time. What (Ingram) did in that third quarter, I was shaking my head.”
Williamson scored eight points from close range during a 22-4 run that turned a four-point deficit into a 65-51 lead. Pounding the ball inside helped New Orleans shoot 57.8% (26 of 45) in the first half, and 54.3% (50 of 92) for the game.
Fox entered the game having scored at least 28 points in all but one game. He finished 5 of 8 from the floor.
The 36-point victory was the most lopsided of the season for New Orleans.
UP NEXT
The teams play again Wednesday night in New Orleans.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPBI B. Ingram
CZ C. Zeller
DD D. Daniels
HJ H. Jones
JA J. Alvarado
JH J. Hawkins
JR J. Robinson-Earl
JV J. Valančiūnas
KL K. Lewis Jr.
NM N. Marshall
VA Valanciunas
ZW Z. Williamson
SACCD C. Duarte
CJ C. Jones
DF D. Fox
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
FP F. Petrusev
HB H. Barnes
JM J. McGee
JS J. Slawson
KE K. Edwards
KH K. Huerter
KM K. Murray
MM M. Monk
NOP/SAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur