Game ID: 22300222
Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans
Monday, November 20, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 29 37 34 29 129SAC 31 22 16 24 93
NOP vs SAC ScoutingNOP vs SAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NOP availability going into 11/12 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jones missed 2 since 11/08, out tonight
BACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (104% of 33)
NEW Daniels 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 24 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/14 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 4 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jones missed 3 since 11/08, returns tonight: 31 min (99% of 31)
BACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (102% of 33)
NEW Daniels 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/17 · 2 days' restOUT McCollum missed 5 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 31 min since (99% of 31)
NEW Daniels 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 23 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/18 · back-to-backOUT McCollum missed 6 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 11/14, out tonight
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 34 min since (110% of 31)
NEW Daniels 22 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/20 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 7 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 3 since 11/14, out tonight
OUT Alvarado missed 2 since 11/17, returns tonight: 15 min (84% of 18)
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 32 min since (104% of 31)
NEW Daniels 22 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/22 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 8 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 4 since 11/14, returns tonight: 12 min (62% of 20)
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 31 min since (100% of 31)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 15 min since (84% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 23 min over the last 4
NOP availability going into 11/24 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 9 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Ryan missed 2 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 32 min since (105% of 31)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/22 after 4, 12 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 17 min since (93% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 29 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/25 · back-to-backOUT McCollum missed 10 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Ryan missed 3 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/22 after 4, 16 min since (82% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 16 min since (90% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 27 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/27 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 11 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Ryan missed 4 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/22 after 4, 15 min since (74% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 18 min since (99% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 29 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/13 · 2 days' restOUT Fox missed 5 since 11/01, returns tonight: 36 min (100% of 36)
BACK Ellis back 11/04 after 3, 17 min since (99% of 17)
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/15 · 1 day's restBACK Fox back 11/13 after 5, 36 min since (100% of 36)
BACK Ellis back 11/04 after 3, 16 min since (93% of 17)
NEW Mitchell 15 to 24 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 11/17 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Fox back 11/13 after 5, 37 min since (103% of 36)
NEW Huerter 24 to 33 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/19 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 3 since 11/13, returns tonight: 8 min (56% of 15)
BACK Fox back 11/13 after 5, 38 min since (107% of 36)
NEW Huerter 24 to 33 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/20 · back-to-backBACK Fox back 11/13 after 5, 37 min since (102% of 36)
BACK Mitchell back 11/19 after 3, 8 min since (56% of 15)
NEW Huerter 24 to 31 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 11/22 · 1 day's restBACK Fox back 11/13 after 5, 35 min since (97% of 36)
BACK Mitchell back 11/19 after 3, 14 min since (91% of 15)
SAC availability going into 11/24 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 2 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 11/19 after 3, 13 min since (82% of 15)
SAC availability going into 11/28 · 3 days' restOUT Murray missed 2 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Ellis missed 3 since 11/20, returns tonight: 6 min (33% of 17)
BACK Mitchell back 11/19 after 3, 12 min since (76% of 15)
NEW Duarte 12 to 19 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 11/29 · back-to-backOUT Murray missed 3 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 11/28 after 3, 6 min since (33% of 17)
BACK Mitchell back 11/19 after 3, 11 min since (73% of 15)
NEW Duarte 12 to 19 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 25 free throws a game; Ingram at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. Without McCollum (7 straight), Nance Jr. (3 straight), Alvarado (2 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 112, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Fox at 32 and Sabonis at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: New Orleans wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it New Orleans 117, Sacramento 116, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/12 vs DAL 124-136 — NOP notes
NOP lost 124-136. NOP shot 51% (47 of 92) to DAL's 49%, 17 of 36 from three. NOP turned it over 18 times to DAL's 6. The glass went 54-42 for them. Ingram led with 20 (9 of 17, 1 of 3 from three); Williamson added 18, Daniels 17. Q4 was theirs, 39-27, the deficit cut from 24 to 12, but the other 3 periods went 109-85 against them. Daniels's -29 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/14 vs DAL 131-110 — NOP notes
NOP won 131-110. NOP shot 52% (49 of 94) to DAL's 42%, 14 of 38 from three. NOP turned it over 12 times to DAL's 20. Ingram led with 25 (11 of 20, 1 of 5 from three); Hawkins added 25, Jones 19. The hinge was Q3, 44-31: a lead of 16 became 29, and the lead reached 33. Valančiūnas was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
11/17 vs DEN 115-110 — NOP notes
NOP won 115-110. NOP shot 52% (46 of 88) to DEN's 49%, 12 of 23 from three, and went to the line 21 times to DEN's 12 — 11 points from the stripe to their 6. The glass went 39-51 against them. Williamson led with 26 (10 of 17, 5 of 11 at the line); Valančiūnas added 22, Ingram 21. The hinge was Q1, 36-28: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Williamson was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/18 vs MIN 120-121 — NOP notes
NOP lost 120-121. NOP shot 51% (44 of 86) to MIN's 54%, 12 of 29 from three. Ingram led with 30 (11 of 24, 1 of 6 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Valančiūnas added 26, Hawkins 15. Q1 was theirs, 35-27, but the other 3 periods went 94-85 against them. They led by as many as 15.
11/20 vs SAC 129-93 — NOP notes
NOP won 129-93. NOP shot 54% (50 of 92) to SAC's 38%, 12 of 28 from three. The glass went 55-36 for them. Ingram led with 31 (11 of 18, 5 of 5 from three); Williamson added 26, Jones 18. The hinge was Q3, 34-16: a lead of 13 became 31, and the lead reached 41. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +39.
11/22 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 114, shooting 52 percent and 44 from three, 23 free throws a game; Ingram at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without McCollum (8 straight), Nance Jr. (4 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Fox at 29 and Sabonis at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-5 a night and Sacramento minus-2 and the arc, New Orleans at 44 percent from three to Sacramento's 38. Call it New Orleans 119, Sacramento 115, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/24 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 103, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; George at 27 and Leonard at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Ingram at 26 and Williamson at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without McCollum (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it the Clippers 113, New Orleans 111, New Orleans keeping it close.
11/25 @ UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 124, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 24 free throws a game; Markkanen at 23 and Clarkson at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Kessler (7 straight), Hendricks (14 straight), Sensabaugh (14 straight). 2 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 108, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Williamson at 27 and Ingram at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without McCollum (10 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: New Orleans wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, New Orleans allowing 108 a night to Utah's 124 and the arc, New Orleans at 40 percent from three to Utah's 32. Call it New Orleans 118, Utah 115, Utah keeping it close.
11/27 @ UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 125, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; Markkanen at 23 and Clarkson at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Hendricks (15 straight), Sensabaugh (15 straight). One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Ingram at 28 and Williamson at 28 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without McCollum (11 straight). One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, New Orleans allowing 107 a night to Utah's 125 and the turnovers, Utah giving it away 17 times a game to New Orleans's 13. Call it New Orleans 117, Utah 114, Utah keeping it close.
11/13 vs CLE 132-120 — SAC notes
SAC won 132-120. SAC shot 59% (49 of 83) to CLE's 49%, 20 of 42 from three. Fox led with 28 (11 of 20, 2 of 6 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Murray added 25, Sabonis 23. The hinge was Q3, 42-29: a lead of 8 became 21. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/15 @ LAL 125-110 — SAC notes
SAC won 125-110. SAC shot 50% (48 of 96) to LAL's 51%, 16 of 44 from three. SAC turned it over 15 times to LAL's 23. Sabonis led with 29 (13 of 19); Fox added 28, Huerter 28. The hinge was Q1, 38-25: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 26. Huerter was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/17 @ SAS 129-120 — SAC notes
SAC won 129-120. SAC shot 54% (46 of 85) to SAS's 47%, 18 of 42 from three. Fox led with 43 (14 of 24, 5 of 11 from three, 10 of 13 at the line); Sabonis added 27, Monk 20. The hinge was Q4, 34-26: a lead of 1 became 9, and the lead reached 16.
11/19 @ DAL 129-113 — SAC notes
SAC won 129-113. SAC shot 53% (48 of 90) to DAL's 47%, 17 of 40 from three. Sabonis led with 32 (13 of 15, 6 of 10 at the line); Fox added 30, Murray 17. The hinge was Q2, 35-29: SAC came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 5, and the lead reached 21. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/20 @ NOP 93-129 — SAC notes
SAC lost 93-129. SAC shot 38% (33 of 87) to NOP's 54%, 11 of 45 from three. The glass went 36-55 against them. Barnes led with 16 (4 of 9, 3 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Fox added 14, Sabonis 10. Q1 was theirs, 31-29, but the other 3 periods went 100-62 against them. Sabonis's -36 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/22 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 114, shooting 52 percent and 44 from three, 23 free throws a game; Ingram at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without McCollum (8 straight), Nance Jr. (4 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Fox at 29 and Sabonis at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-5 a night and Sacramento minus-2 and the arc, New Orleans at 44 percent from three to Sacramento's 38. Call it New Orleans 119, Sacramento 115, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/24 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 26 free throws a game; Towns at 26 and Edwards at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 118, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Fox at 28 and Sabonis at 24 a game. Without Ellis (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 111 a night to Sacramento's 118. Call it Minnesota 116, Sacramento 111.
11/28 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 118, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Fox at 30 and Sabonis at 21 a game. Without Murray (2 straight), Ellis (3 straight). 3 days' rest. Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Curry at 27 and Thompson at 16 a game. Without Green (5 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Sacramento wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Sacramento 118, Golden State 115, Golden State keeping it close.
11/29 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Fox at 27 and Sabonis at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Murray (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 27 free throws a game; George at 23 and Leonard at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 104 a night to Sacramento's 119 and the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-3 a night and Sacramento minus-5. Call it the Clippers 113, Sacramento 112, Sacramento keeping it close.
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
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.