Sacramento – As Sacramento Kings 15-point lead heading into Monday night’s quarterfinal game of the NBA in-season tournament, New Orleans Pelicans was calm
“We just looked at each other like ‘we’re straight,'” the Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said
Having already beaten the Kings twice this season in New Orleans, the Pelicans expected Sacramento to punch early. key, CJ McCollum He said, don’t get knocked out.
Coach Willie Green’s game plan at the time was simple: One stop, one score, one stop, one score — enough repetitions to get the Pelicans back into the game, which they eventually won. 127-117 to advance in the tournament.
“The biggest thing I saw in that game was belief,” Green said. “Our guys stuck together, they stuck together in the huddle, and they continued to make the right plays over and over again. When you see a team that has 29 assists and only 14 turnovers, that’s a team that continues to have confidence. We continue to build on that. want.”
Monday’s game featured the healthiest version of the Pelicans ever Larry Nance Jr A team source on the sidelines told ESPN that now that they have nearly their entire roster available, the Pelicans can finally show who they really are and make a run.
Six players finished in double-digit scoring on Monday night, leading New Orleans Brandon IngramIts 30 points. Herbert Jones 23 is added, then Jonas Valanciunas 18, McCollum 17 and Trey Murphy III 16.
Williamson finished with just 10 points, his fewest in a career game in which he played 25 minutes or more.
“The shooter we added, it definitely takes the pressure off me,” Williamson said. “I didn’t play very well, but we were still up 13, 18 late in the game. It shows how committed everyone is. Coach always talks about being ready. Our guys were ready.”
The Pelicans also had four players with 10 points and five assists, tied for the most in a game in franchise history.
“It’s very important,” McCullum said when asked not to rely on just one player to dominate a game. “That’s how you compete for championships, that’s how you win playoff games and that’s how you win in the half court — having multiple guys.”
Sacramento wanted to double-team Williamson, “as well as throw the kitchen sink at him,” as coach Mike Brown said before the game. And the Kings limited him, as he scored just two points in the first half.
But numerous other threats let the Pelicans go after the Kings endured an early run. After falling behind by 15 early, New Orleans closed the first quarter on an 18-4 run. Midway through the second quarter, the Pelicans led by as many as 13.
Sacramento produced its own shocker — the Western Conference Player of the Week De’Aaron Fox Score 30 points and Domantus Sabonis Contribution 26.
But the Pelicans had an answer for everything.
New Orleans shot 54% from the field, its second-best field goal percentage in a game this season. The only time the Pelicans shot better was on Nov. 20, when they shot 54.3% against this same Kings team.
“It’s too bad, definitely disappointing — a game like this at home is a chance for us to get some revenge against a team that beat us pretty well at their place and have a chance to go to Vegas,” the Kings guard said. Kevin Huerter Said “They had a lot of guys in place that were effective tonight. We did a good job on Zion but it was all game for Ingram. Their bench was great — a big reason they came back.”
Huerter said the Pelicans’ roster — their size up front, their shooting depth and ability to score in the paint and their defensive prowess make them a unique and difficult challenge, especially when healthy.
And he’s not the only one in the NBA who realizes this.
“With their full roster,” a league source told ESPN, “they’re a team I can see challenging. Denver Nuggets For the top team in the West.”
There’s still a long way to go before New Orleans can challenge Denver — or any other team — for the Western Conference, but going to Las Vegas for the first NBA Cup is a chance for the Pelicans to show who they are.
“This team could be great,” Williamson said. “We have a lot of potential, but we have a lot of growth (we need) to do… But overall we can do something really special if everyone sticks. We can do something really special.”
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