New Orleans Pelicans @ Sacramento Kings
Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA | Game ID: 22301170
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
SAC 23 35 31 34 123NOP 34 30 34 37 135
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
McCollum, Williamson score 31 apiece, Pelicans complete five-game sweep of Kings with 135-123 win
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- — CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson each scored 31 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat Sacramento 135-123 on Thursday night to complete a five-game season sweep of the Kings.
Williamson went to the locker room late in the second quarter with an apparent left wrist injury, but returned to score 23 points in the second half.
“Proving myself right,” he said of his performance. “Simple as that. And then, with my teammates and coaches just trusting me, that means a lot.”
McCollum tied a season high with nine 3-pointers in 12 attempts and added seven assists to help the Pelicans improve their chances of avoiding the play-in tournament. They are sixth in the Western Conference, the final guaranteed playoff spot.
“For us, it’s about continuing to win, continuing to give ourselves a chance to accomplish what we want, which is making the playoffs and then making a run in the playoffs,” McCollum said.
Trey Murphy III added 27 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
New Orleans improved to 27-14 on the road, a franchise record for wins and tied with the Celtics for the best mark in the NBA. The Pelicans (48-32) lead the Phoenix Suns by one game for the sixth seed with two games remaining.
“It’s extremely difficult to win any game in the NBA, let alone go in someone else’s building and carve out a win,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “I don’t necessarily have the answers, to be honest with you, of how we’re doing it. But we are. We’re going to take those positives and keep trying to build on them. It’s good to know that we can go on the road and be together and win games at a high level.”
De'Aaron Fox had 33 points and eight assists, but Sacramento lost for the fourth time in its last five games and lost its chance to avoid the play-in tournament. The Kings (45-35) are tied with the Lakers and Warriors for eighth.
“If we could’ve finished in sixth, I wanted that more than anything else,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown said. “Or fifth. But at the end of the day, this is where we are, and let’s frickin’ go get it and let’s learn and grow from it and see what happens, at the end of the day. But I’m excited about any opportunity to play in the postseason.”
Harrison Barnes added 22 points, and Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 75th double-double, the most by any player in a season since Moses Malone had 77 in 1978-79.
The Pelicans used an 18-0 run to build a 34-11 lead, but Sacramento responded with 15 straight points to get back within eight early in the second quarter.
New Orleans led 64-58 at the half and never trailed in the game. The Pelicans shot 57% from the field and made 22 of 40 3-pointers.
“They hit us first,” Fox said. “I think they got into us. I think we got some good looks that didn’t go down, too. But I think they controlled the game from the start.”
Sacramento shot 55% and made 16 of 38 3s.
New Orleans was without forward Brandon Ingram for the 11th straight game, though he is nearing a return from a left knee bone contusion.
Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr . also missed the game for personal reasons.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPCM C. McCollum
CZ C. Zeller
DD D. Daniels
HJ H. Jones
JA J. Alvarado
JR J. Robinson-Earl
JV J. Valančiūnas
NM N. Marshall
TM T. Murphy III
VA Valanciunas
ZW Z. Williamson
SACAL A. Len
AV A. Vezenkov
CD C. Duarte
CJ C. Jones
DF D. Fox
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
KE K. Ellis
KM K. Murray
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
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