Game ID: 22300233
Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans
Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 32 32 29 24 117SAC 30 20 29 33 112
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 11/14 · 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
NOP availability going into 11/29 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 12 since 11/06, returns tonight: 28 min (85% of 33)
OUT Ryan missed 5 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/22 after 4, 13 min since (67% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 17 min since (95% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Marshall 19 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 27 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
SAC availability going into 12/02 · 2 days' restOUT Murray missed 4 since 11/22, returns tonight: 23 min (70% of 34)
BACK Ellis back 11/28 after 3, 6 min since (33% of 17)
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.
11/14 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 117-112 — NOP notes
NOP won 117-112. NOP shot 47% (41 of 87) to SAC's 45%, 7 of 30 from three. NOP turned it over 10 times to SAC's 15. The glass went 48-38 for them. Williamson led with 25 (10 of 16, 5 of 7 at the line); Ingram added 23, Valančiūnas 15. The hinge was Q2, 32-20: a lead of 2 became 14, and the lead reached 17. Marshall was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
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.
11/29 vs PHI — 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 115 a night and allowing 106, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Williamson at 27 and Ingram at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without McCollum (12 straight). One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 110, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 31 free throws a game; Embiid at 32 and Maxey at 26 a game. Without Oubre Jr. (9 straight), House Jr. (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-7 a night and Philadelphia plus-3 and the line, where Philadelphia takes 31 free throws a game to New Orleans's 26. Call it New Orleans 114, Philadelphia 113, Philadelphia keeping it close.
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 112-117 — SAC notes
SAC lost 112-117. SAC shot 45% (34 of 76) to NOP's 47%, 15 of 44 from three. SAC turned it over 15 times to NOP's 10, and NOP turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 38-48 against them. Fox led with 26 (9 of 17, 2 of 7 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Sabonis added 23, Barnes 22. Q4 was theirs, 33-24, the deficit cut from 14 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 93-79 against them. Fox's -14 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
12/02 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Fox at 29 and Barnes at 15 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Murray (4 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 32 and Porter Jr. at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Gordon (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 113 a night to Sacramento's 122 and the glass, where Denver has been plus-1 a night and Sacramento minus-5. Call it Denver 116, Sacramento 115, 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
JV J. Valančiūnas
LN L. Nance Jr.
NM N. Marshall
VA Valanciunas
ZW Z. Williamson
SACAV A. Vezenkov
CD C. Duarte
DF D. Fox
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
JM J. McGee
KE K. Edwards
KH K. Huerter
MM M. Monk
TL T. Lyles
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
Williamson, Ingram lead the Pelicans past the Kings 117-112
NEW ORLEANS -- — Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have been putting in extra work together on late-game scenarios during recent Pelicans practices — and it appears to be paying off.
Williamson scored 25 points, Ingram added 21, and New Orleans regrouped after losing a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead and beat the Sacramento Kings 117-112 on Wednesday night.
“Both of those guys have been working diligently with the coaching staff,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Just working on chemistry together in the middle of the floor for moments like that.”
Both New Orleans stars made pivotal plays late to put the Pelicans in front for good en route to their second straight victory and fourth in five games.
After Williamson powered through multiple defenders in the paint to spin in a layup off the glass, Ingram stole De'Aaron Fox 's pass, broke the other way in transition and pulled up for a mid-range jumper that made it 113-108 with 1:37 left. And in the final minute, Ingram used a screen by Williamson to set up a soaring layup down the lane to make it 115-110.
The Kings needed 15 seconds for Fox to get a shot off that pulled them within 115-112 with just a second left. But by then it was too late.
New Orleans' recent run of good form has followed a five-game skid that ended after a lopsided loss to Dallas on Nov. 12.
“Two Sundays ago, the energy wasn’t there for us,” Williamson said, alluding to a team meeting held after the losing streak.
“We were all sitting here trying to figure out what we needed to do," Williamson continued. “But now, we came together as a team.”
Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who also beat the Kings in New Orleans on Monday night. Jordan Hawkins added 13 points and Naji Marshall 12 points.
Fox finished with a game-high 26 points. Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento, and Harrison Barnes added 22 points.
“Their length and athleticism bothered us and Zion was a load,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. "Our guys showed a little bit of fight, and you like that, and hopefully we can bottle that up going forward.”
New Orleans missed 23 of 30 3-point attempts. But they made up for that by outscoring the Kings 62-28 in the paint.
“It says a lot about this team that they can continue to win games when they don’t shoot the ball well from 3," Green said.
The Pelicans began the fourth quarter with a 93-79 lead, but saw that erased in the span of four minutes, during which the Kings went on a 18-4 run.
“We have to be physical before it gets too late," Fox said. “Obviously, trying to play from behind the entire game is not what you want to do.”
Trey Lyles ignited the surge with three 3-pointers. Malik Monk 's 3 from 25 feet out cut it to 97-95 and Davion Mitchell 's free throws tied it to set up a back-and-forth final eight minutes.
“It was really a gutsy performance on our guys’ part,” Green said. "Even when they made their run, we stayed calm. We made some big shots down the stretch.”
Williamson scored 17 in the first half and his driving layup late in second quarter gave New Orleans its largest lead at 17.
Sasha Vezenkov 's 3 cut it to 64-50 at halftime.
UP NEXT
Kings: Visit Minnesota on Friday night in West Group C play in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Pelicans: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night in their final West Group B game in the NBA In-Season Tournament.