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Jim Eichenhofer

New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas (right quadriceps soreness) missed his first game of the season against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. On this afternoon’s injury report, Valanciunas and forward Brandon Ingram (left great toe soreness) have been upgraded to probable against the Atlanta Hawks. Four Pelicans players remain listed as out, including Dyson Daniels (right ankle sprain), E.J. Liddell (right knee ACL injury recovery), Dereon Seabron (G League two-way) and Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain).

Dejounte Murray, AJ Griffin, De'Andre Hunter, John Collins, Clint Capela

CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Naji Marshall, Trey Murphy lll, Larry Nance Jr.

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Two starters upgraded for Tuesday game vs. Hawks

Pelicans.com

On the latest Pelicans Podcast presented by SeatGeek, Joe Cardosi and Jim Eichenhofer revel in the joy of triumph after snapping a 10-game losing streak with back-to-back wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings at the Smoothie King Center.

Jim also catches up for a brief interview with Larry Nance Jr. after the Lakers win (5:14) and Willy Hernangomez after the victory against the Sacramento Kings (18:18). The duo also recaps both games and take a look at the Pelicans schedule from a fresh perspective after two straight wins.

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Larry Nance Jr., Willy Hernangomez on weekend win vs. Lakers, Kings | Pelicans Podcast

Check out our daily collection of Pelicans news and notes from local and national reporters around the Internet on February 6, 2023.

Panzura postgame wrap: Pelicans 136, Kings 104

New Orleans has been without Zion Williamson for a month and found out Sunday afternoon that Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas wouldn’t play vs. Sacramento.

Trey Murphy scores 30 points in Pelicans' blowout win over Kings

Trey Murphy is known for his aerial attacks and his outside shooting.

Murphy’s ultra-efficient 30-point performance paces Pelicans to dominant 136-104 victory over Kings

New Orleans’ offense shined without three potent starters against the third seed in the West

NBA Top Five Performances, Feb. 5: Trey Murphy III’s 30-Point Night Helped Pelicans Cruise Past Sacramento Kings

The New Orleans Pelicans were without Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, and Zion Williamson Sunday night against the Kings.

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Pelicans News Around the Web 2/6/23

Some NBA uniform numbers are in more demand than others, which became clear when Pelicans.com surveyed the roster to find out how players determined what they wear on their New Orleans uniform. Multiple Pelicans players prefer No. 1, as well as No. 10 and No. 13, but NBA rules dictate that only one individual can sport those numbers (Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes and Kira Lewis Jr. do so, in that order). This week’s article gets to the bottom of how roster members wound up with their number.

Jose Alvarado (15): “Basically how I started my whole career in basketball was with 15. But as time goes on, you have teammates who are already wearing 15, so I changed it to 10 (in college). But Jaxson Hayes had 10 (when I arrived in New Orleans), I was a rookie, so I picked a number that was available, and it was 15.”Dyson Daniels (11):“I started playing when I was 5 years old, and I was No. 11. Through my whole junior career, I wore 11. It’s been on my back through it all. No deep meaning behind it, but we go way back. Might as well stick with it.”Devonte’ Graham (4): “That’s when I started playing basketball. I was 4 years old. It’s been with me and I try to keep that number everywhere I go.”Jaxson Hayes (10): “Jersey No. 10 was my choice here, but (previously) I wanted 15 at Texas, but it was retired. Then I wanted 11 there, but it was also retired. So I took 10 at Texas. When I got to the Pelicans, 15 and 11 were already taken by Frank Jackson and Jrue Holiday, so I stuck with 10.”Willy Hernangomez (9): “It’s important for me because it was my mom’s first number (in basketball), her jersey.”Brandon Ingram (14): “My first number was 13 in high school. When I got to college, somebody had 13, so I just picked 14, just because it was the closest number to it.”Herb Jones (5): “I looked up the available jersey numbers (Zion Williamson already had Jones’ preferred college No. 1) and tried to get the one that was as low as possible. My brother actually wore No. 5 when he played, so I just followed in his footsteps and got No. 5.”Kira Lewis Jr. (13): “I chose 13 because I was the 13th pick (in the 2020 NBA Draft).”Naji Marshall (8): “I wanted 13, to be honest (but Lewis had it; Marshall wore 13 in college at Xavier).”Trey Murphy (25): “It’s the number my dad wore in college. It’s a number I’ve worn all my life. I changed it up a little bit in high school because No. 25 was a really big jersey, and I was a small person. But once I went to Virginia, I changed back to 25 to pay (my father) some homage.”Larry Nance Jr. (22): “It’s like a family heirloom. My dad wore it for 13 years when he played in the NBA. My sister wore it four years in college. My little brother wears it now (for the North Carolina Tar Heels).”Dereon Seabron (0): “I wanted to stay with a single-digit number. My favorite number to wear of 1 wasn’t available, so I just went with 0.”Garrett Temple (41): “My dad wore 41 at LSU. He integrated the basketball program in 1970. I wore it in high school, and my older brother wore it in college as well. I was 17 a lot of my years in the NBA.”Jonas Valanciunas (17): “I started playing professionally when I was 17 years old. I picked this number because you’re not gong to see too many players (wearing it). I liked it and have always had it (in the NBA).”Zion Williamson (1): “I wore 12 in high school, but when I got to college, there was a junior (at Duke) who had 12. I went to Coach K and said, ‘Since 12 is taken, what number should I wear?’ He said, ‘You could wear 33 and ask Grant Hill if he’ll let you wear it, or I can see you wearing No. 1. I think you’ll look good in it.’ ”

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24 Seconds presented by Ibotta: Uniform number selection

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Willie Green on win, team defense | Pelicans Kings Postgame Interview 2/5/23

On what this win says about the team:"It speaks to the professionalism and the character in our locker room. I spoke to the guys about it, Devonte’ (Graham), Garrett (Temple), Willy (Hernangómez), Jaxson (Hayes), Kira (Lewis Jr.), all the guys that don't necessarily play a ton of minutes or haven't been playing a ton of minutes. They all came in and they executed over and over again. They executed coverages defensively, and offensively we were able to spread the floor and get out and run. We don't take that type of stuff for granted. It's what makes our team special."

On being proud of the performance by Trey Murphy lll:"We are. Trey has been huge the past couple of nights for us, but even all season. He's consistent. He comes in in practice, he puts his work in and we're all seeing it on display night in and night out. The sky's the limit for Trey. He's going to continue to get better. His game will continue to open up, but tonight was a really great effort on his part. Good to see him knock down a few shots."

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Trey Murphy III on team offense, game plan | Pelicans Kings Postgame Interview 2/5/23

On being in a rhythm:“Like I told you all before, you just have to keep shooting no matter if you’re hitting or not hitting. Eventually, your percentage is going to get to where it’s supposed to be, so I’m just glad my teammates found me and I was able to knock down shots for them.”

On adding different skills to his game:"BI (Brandon Ingram) was out, so somebody had to be BI. I decided to tap into my BI skillset. That was really it.”

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Willy Hernangomez on his performance, home win | Pelicans Kings Postgame Interview 2/5/23

On getting playing time:“Super fun. I love playing basketball so much. It feels great to win and to get back to winning. Played good basketball and I played out there with my family and my friends. I played well. I’m happy.”

On getting defensive stops:“I think we let them under 30 points per quarter. We executed the defensive plan perfectly. We were disciplined helping each other and our communication was really high. Larry (Nance Jr.) did a great job on (Domantas) Sabonis, Herb (Jones) always there and Naji (Marshall). Everybody contributed to the win. Defensively, this is us and we need to keep going and do what we do.”

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New Orleans Pelicans vs. Sacramento Kings Postgame Quotes | 2/5/23

New Orleans has been without Zion Williamson for a month and found out Sunday afternoon that Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas wouldn’t play vs. Sacramento. Fortunately for the Pelicans, second-year pro Trey Murphy – along with youngsters such as Naji Marshall and Kira Lewis Jr. – were more than enough to win anyway. By a huge margin. Capping off a very successful weekend in the Smoothie King Center, New Orleans swept a back-to-back by pounding Sacramento, less than 24 hours after surging past the Lakers. The Pelicans entered the weekend on a 10-game losing streak, but they regained their previous form on the home floor, where they had been red-hot for much of November and December. All 11 Pelicans who checked into the game scored, while all but one handed out an assist. “We’re extremely proud of everyone on our team,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said. “Everyone that touched the floor contributed... It started with our defense getting deflections, challenging shots, rebounding the ball.”

Larry Nance Jr. split a pair of free throws midway through the third quarter to give New Orleans a 30-point lead at 88-58. Nance knocked the ball away from Domantas Sabonis and dropped in a layup two possessions later to give the Pelicans 90 points, with six-plus minutes still remaining in the third quarter.

Game 114 of Murphy’s brief NBA career may have been his best. The forward followed up a splendid Saturday performance – which he broke open in the fourth quarter – by shooting lights-out against the Kings. Murphy probably would’ve registered a new career high in scoring (it’s 32), but he wasn’t needed during the latter portion of the fourth quarter in a rout. He "settled" for 30 points on only 11 shots from the field. He went 6/8 from three-point range.

11: New Orleans steals, led by Jaxson Hayes’ career-high four thefts.57.1: New Orleans shooting percentage from the field, the team’s fifth-best rate in a game this season. Oddly, the season high (58.4) came in a Dec. 17 loss at Phoenix.53.8: New Orleans shooting percentage from three-point range (14 of 26), a season high in that category. It was only the second time in 2022-23 that the Pelicans made at least half of their trey attempts.

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Pelicans Highlights: Trey Murphy III scores 30 points vs. Sacramento Kings 2/5/23

SOPHOMORES VS. SACMurphy built on his stellar Saturday vs. the Lakers with an even greater impact Sunday. Meanwhile, Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado didn’t make a big dent on the stat sheet, but both picked up a steal and provided their usual doses of energy.BENCH PRODUCTIONWilly Hernangomez provided phenomenal production in his backup center role, after Nance was shifted to the starting lineup in place of Valanciunas. Hernangomez notched a 22-16 game in only modest minutes (28:12). Overall, the NOLA reserves totaled 50 points.MATCHUP TO WATCHWith De’Aaron Fox (personal reasons) sidelined for Sacramento, NOLA’s guards didn’t have to worry about that quicksilver handful on defense. CJ McCollum also didn’t need to produce a big game, but he did anyway, pouring in 24 points. Like Murphy, he shot 9/11 from the floor.

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Pelicans Highlights: Willy Hernangomez has 22 points, 16 rebounds vs. Sacramento Kings 2/5/23

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UPDATE: Brandon Ingram has been added to the injury report, listed as out due to left great toe soreness.

New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas hoped to play in all 82 regular season games and has made it to early February with “perfect attendance,” but that goal is in jeopardy Sunday vs. Sacramento (6 p.m., Bally Sports, 99.5 FM). On this afternoon’s injury report, New Orleans is listing Valanciunas as doubtful due to right quadriceps soreness. Four Pelicans players remain listed as out, including Dyson Daniels (right ankle sprain), E.J. Liddell (right knee ACL injury recovery), Dereon Seabron (G League two-way) and Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain).

For Sacramento, top 2023 Western Conference All-Star snub and point guard De’Aaron Fox (personal reasons) is listed as out for Sunday’s game.

Davion Mitchell, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis

CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas

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Jonas Valanciunas doubtful for Sunday home game vs. Kings

A look at three key numbers related to Sunday’s game in the Smoothie King Center between Sacramento and New Orleans (6 p.m. Central, Bally Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):

35, 21: Points in Saturday’s win over the Lakers from New Orleans’ starting forwards, Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy, respectively. That appears to be a very good omen for the Pelicans, as Ingram deposited a season-high 35, his most since he tallied 37 in Game 2 of the 2022 first-round playoff series at Phoenix. Meanwhile, Murphy appears to be heating up, with four straight games of shooting 50 percent or better from the field (the first time he’s done that since December). Among Murphy’s 10 games this season in which he’s made at least four three-pointers, two have occurred over the past seven days, including Jan. 29 at Milwaukee and Saturday vs. the Lakers. Murphy also will try to take advantage of three more games on this New Orleans homestand – he’s shooting 43 percent from three-point range in the Smoothie King Center in 2022-23, compared to 36 percent on the road. Oddly, Ingram’s home/road three-point shooting splits are the exact opposite – he’s at 35 percent at home, but a scorching 48 percent in away games.

2: New Orleans clutch-time wins since Jan. 1, with the latter being in Saturday’s 131-126 victory against the Lakers. Pelicans reserve center/forward Larry Nance Jr. described it as “a gutsy win,” and it was critical for New Orleans in more ways than one. The Pelicans were 10-6 in clutch games through Dec. 31, but since the dawn of the new year they are only 2-8 (total of 12-14), having multiple chances during the losing streak slip through their grasp. Sacramento has gone 16-13 overall in clutch games this season, one factor behind the Kings’ turnaround (they were 17-23 last season, en route to their 16th straight non-playoff season). Despite only playing in nine clutch games this season, Ingram is tied for third on the Pelicans in total clutch points (29), tallying six of those Saturday. Sacramento point guard De’Aaron Fox leads the entire NBA in clutch points (119), but he’s listed as out for Sunday’s game due to personal reasons.

5: Sacramento players who’ve started at least 47 games (out of the team’s 51), giving the Kings perhaps the healthiest first unit in the league. Although Fox will be sidelined Sunday, Sacramento has rarely needed to improvise with its starting five, only using seven different combinations. Contrast that with New Orleans, which has only two players who’ve made at least 47 starts (Jonas Valanciunas has started all 54 games; CJ McCollum 48 starts). The Pelicans have leaned on twice as many different starting lineups (14) as the Kings in 2022-23. Sacramento’s primary first string has a record of 23-15; New Orleans does not have more than six victories from any of its starting lineups.

Notes: Starting point guard Fox (personal reasons) is listed as out, missing his second straight game for the Kings. … Sacramento holds a 1.5-game lead on the fourth-place LA Clippers (30-26), while trailing second-place Memphis (32-20) by 2.5 games. … Sacramento is 13-11 in road games, 17-10 against the West.

Notes: The team’s injury report will be submitted before Sunday’s 1 p.m. deadline. … New Orleans would move ahead of ninth-place Utah (27-27) with a Sunday win. The Pelicans also have a chance to leapfrog Minnesota (28-27), but the Timberwolves would also need to lose vs. Denver. The Pelicans are two games behind the No. 4 Clippers (30-26), just one in the loss column.

SOPHOMORES VS. SACWhat a Saturday it was for NOLA’s trio of second-year pros in an important matchup against the Lakers. The Pelicans would love to see a similar impact from Murphy (21 points vs. Los Angeles), Jose Alvarado (18 points) and Herb Jones (four steals) in a quick turnaround for Sunday’s back-to-back.

BENCH PRODUCTIONNew Orleans ranks fourth in the NBA in bench plus-minus, while Sacramento is No. 14 – as well as a bit depleted with Fox needing to be replaced this weekend in the starting lineup. Pelicans subs lead the NBA in steals per game (3.6), with Alvarado (1.1 spg in all games), Nance (0.9) and rookie Dyson Daniels (0.9) providing thievery.

MATCHUP TO WATCHIn 25 career games vs. Sacramento, McCollum is averaging 20.8 points, the third-most for the 10-year NBA veteran against any West opponent (22.4 vs. Memphis, 21.0 vs. Phoenix). If the 6-foot-2 Mitchell remains a Kings starter Sunday, he may be matched up with McCollum. Mitchell’s nickname is “Off Night” due to his defensive ability to make it tough on opposing scorers.

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Behind the Numbers: Kings at Pelicans (2/5/2023)

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