Game ID: 22301170
New Orleans Pelicans @ Sacramento Kings
Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
SAC 23 35 31 34 123NOP 34 30 34 37 135
NOP @ SAC ScoutingNOP @ 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.
SAC availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 22 min since (112% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 10 min since (80% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 21 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/05 · back-to-backBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 25 min since (123% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 11 min since (91% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 21 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 23 min since (114% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 12 min since (97% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 23 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 24 min since (120% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 10 min since (82% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restNEW Ellis 17 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/12 · back-to-backNEW Ellis 17 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restNEW Murray 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 24 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/03 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 6 since 3/22, out tonight
OUT Alvarado missed 3 since 3/28, out tonight
BACK Daniels back 3/30 after 21, 18 min since (84% of 22)
BACK Ryan back 3/28 after 2, 6 min since (46% of 14)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Williamson 32 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 7 since 3/22, out tonight
OUT Alvarado missed 4 since 3/28, out tonight
BACK Daniels back 3/30 after 21, 19 min since (89% of 22)
BACK Ryan back 3/28 after 2, 4 min since (31% of 14)
NEW McCollum 33 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 37 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 8 since 3/22, out tonight
OUT Alvarado missed 5 since 3/28, returns tonight: 22 min (122% of 18)
BACK Daniels back 3/30 after 21, 24 min since (110% of 22)
BACK Ryan back 3/28 after 2, 6 min since (43% of 14)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 31 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 9 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Daniels back 3/30 after 21, 25 min since (114% of 22)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 22 min since (122% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Williamson 32 to 37 min over the last 4
NEW Jones 31 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 10 since 3/22, out tonight
OUT Marshall missed 2 since 4/07, returns tonight: 4 min (18% of 19)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 21 min since (115% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 31 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Daniels 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/12 · back-to-backOUT Ingram missed 11 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 4 min since (18% of 19)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 21 min since (117% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Daniels 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restOUT Ingram missed 12 since 3/22, returns tonight: 23 min (71% of 33)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 30 min (152% of 20)
OUT Hawkins missed 2 since 4/11, out tonight
OUT Ryan missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 2 min (16% of 14)
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 4 min since (18% of 19)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 25 min since (136% of 18)
NEW McCollum 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Murphy III 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Daniels 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/21 · 6 days' restOUT Marshall missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 16 min (82% of 19)
OUT Hawkins missed 3 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK Ingram back 4/14 after 12, 23 min since (71% of 33)
BACK Nance Jr. back 4/14 after 2, 30 min since (152% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 4/07 after 5, 24 min since (132% of 18)
BACK Ryan back 4/14 after 2, 2 min since (16% of 14)
NEW Murphy III 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Hawkins missed 4 since 4/11, returns tonight: 5 min (32% of 17)
BACK Ingram back 4/14 after 12, 30 min since (92% of 33)
BACK Nance Jr. back 4/14 after 2, 25 min since (124% of 20)
BACK Marshall back 4/11 after 2, 10 min since (50% of 19)
BACK Ryan back 4/14 after 2, 2 min since (16% of 14)
NEW Murphy III 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Alvarado 18 to 23 min over the last 5
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 106 a night and allowing 101, shooting 41 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 28 and Murray at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 28 and Williamson at 24 a game. Without Ingram (10 straight), Marshall (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-8 a night and New Orleans minus-1 and the defense, Sacramento allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 111. Call it Sacramento 112, New Orleans 109, New Orleans keeping it close.
4/04 @ NYK 109-120 — SAC notes
SAC lost 109-120. SAC shot 49% (42 of 86) to NYK's 55%, 18 of 42 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 23 fouls committed. SAC turned it over 16 times to NYK's 11, and NYK turned those into 9 steals. Fox led with 29 (11 of 26, 6 of 13 from three); Murray added 18, Sabonis 17. Q1 was theirs, 35-20, but the other 3 periods went 100-74 against them. They led by as many as 21. Sabonis's -25 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/05 @ BOS 100-101 — SAC notes
SAC lost 100-101. SAC took 10 more shots (99 to 89), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to BOS's 43%, 17 of 51 from three. Fox led with 40 (16 of 29, 7 of 13 from three); Sabonis added 16, Murray 10. Q4 was theirs, 28-17, the deficit cut from 12 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 84-72 against them. Edwards's -17 in 10 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/07 @ BKN 107-77 — SAC notes
SAC won 107-77. SAC shot 43% (40 of 94) to BKN's 35%, 15 of 48 from three. SAC turned it over 9 times to BKN's 16. Fox led with 20 (8 of 20, 3 of 11 from three); Murray added 19, Sabonis 18. The hinge was Q4, 29-13: a lead of 14 became 30, and the lead reached 33. Lyles was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
4/09 @ OKC 105-112 — SAC notes
SAC lost 105-112. SAC took 16 more shots (96 to 80), fed by 21 offensive rebounds, but shot 34% to OKC's 49%, 20 of 58 from three. The glass went 56-42 for them. Fox led with 33 (12 of 29, 7 of 17 from three); Ellis added 26, Murray 15. Q2 was theirs, 33-17, but the other 3 periods went 95-72 against them. They led by as many as 20. Sabonis's -18 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/11 vs NOP 123-135 — SAC notes
SAC lost 123-135. SAC shot 55% (46 of 84) to NOP's 57%, 16 of 38 from three. Fox led with 33 (11 of 18, 3 of 7 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Barnes added 22, Murray 19. Q2 was theirs, 35-30, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 105-88 against them. Barnes's -18 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Murray at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-3 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 103 a night to Sacramento's 109. Call it Phoenix 112, Sacramento 111, Sacramento keeping it close.
4/14 vs POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 107, shooting 42 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 30 and Murray at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. Portland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 110, shooting 41 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Ayton at 23 and Banton at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Simons (11 straight), Sharpe (44 straight), Thybulle (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Sacramento 114, Portland 106.
4/03 vs ORL 108-117 — NOP notes
NOP lost 108-117. NOP shot 47% (36 of 76) to ORL's 51%, 12 of 29 from three. McCollum led with 36 (10 of 24, 5 of 12 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Daniels added 16, Williamson 15. Q4 was theirs, 32-26, the deficit cut from 15 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 91-76 against them. Daniels's -19 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/05 vs SAS 109-111 — NOP notes
NOP lost 109-111. NOP shot 51% (44 of 86) to SAS's 51%, 9 of 29 from three. McCollum led with 31 (13 of 29, 4 of 12 from three); Valančiūnas added 26, Murphy III 16. Q1 was theirs, 27-18, but the other 3 periods went 93-82 against them. They led by as many as 15.
4/07 @ PHX 113-105 — NOP notes
NOP won 113-105. NOP shot 47% (40 of 85) to PHX's 45%, 16 of 39 from three. McCollum led with 31 (12 of 22, 7 of 12 from three); Williamson added 29, Alvarado 15. The hinge was Q2, 37-24: NOP came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 6. McCollum was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/09 @ POR 110-100 — NOP notes
NOP won 110-100. NOP shot 41% (36 of 87) to POR's 47%, 11 of 36 from three, and went to the line 29 times to POR's 8 — 27 points from the stripe to their 7. NOP turned it over 9 times to POR's 21. Murphy III led with 31 (9 of 17, 5 of 12 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); McCollum added 29, Williamson 22. The hinge was Q3, 35-23: NOP came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 9, and the lead reached 20. NOP trailed 52-55 at the half and won the second half 58-45. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
4/11 @ SAC 135-123 — NOP notes
NOP won 135-123. NOP shot 57% (49 of 86) to SAC's 55%, 22 of 40 from three. McCollum led with 31 (11 of 18, 9 of 12 from three); Williamson added 31, Murphy III 27. The hinge was Q1, 34-23: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Alvarado was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/12 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 108, shooting 52 percent and 45 from three, 18 free throws a game; Thompson at 26 and Curry at 26 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; McCollum at 32 and Williamson at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Ingram (11 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the arc, Golden State at 45 percent from three to New Orleans's 40 and the glass, where Golden State has been plus-7 a night and New Orleans plus-3. Call it Golden State 116, New Orleans 112, New Orleans keeping it close.
4/14 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; McCollum at 30 and Williamson at 27 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Ingram (12 straight), Nance Jr. (2 straight), Hawkins (2 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; James at 30 and Davis at 24 a game. Without Vanderbilt (31 straight), Wood (25 straight). One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the arc, New Orleans at 43 percent from three to the Lakers' 36 and the defense, New Orleans allowing 110 a night to the Lakers' 120. Call it New Orleans 118, the Lakers 114, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/21 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Holmgren at 16 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 6 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 44 from three, 19 free throws a game; McCollum at 29 and Williamson at 24 a game. Without Marshall (2 straight), Hawkins (3 straight). 6 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 101 a night to New Orleans's 112. Call it OKC 118, New Orleans 110.
4/24 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 96, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Holmgren at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 2 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 42 from three, 17 free throws a game; McCollum at 27 and Murphy III at 23 a game. Without Hawkins (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 96 a night to New Orleans's 110 and the arc, New Orleans at 42 percent from three to OKC's 37. Call it OKC 116, New Orleans 107.
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
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
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.