Sacramento entered a two-game series this week in New Orleans as perhaps the NBA’s hottest team, riding a six-game winning streak highlighted by defeats of Oklahoma City, Cleveland, the Lakers and Dallas. Then the Kings ran into the Pelicans. For a second straight game in the Smoothie King Center, the hosts swarmed Sacramento and built a double-digit lead, but this time the Kings mounted a late-game rally. New Orleans responded in clutch time, coming up with enough pivotal plays to prevail. Brandon Ingram’s steal and mid-range jumper at 1:36 gave the Pelicans a little breathing room and a five-point lead. Ingram later drove for a layup and created another five-point edge in the waning seconds, then sealed the victory with free throws at :00.5.
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THREE POINTS
Locking down on defense.
The Smoothie King Center hosts a promotion in which fans win free French fries if the Pelicans hold the opponent to under 60 points in the opening half. Spectators have been getting plenty of opportunities lately, including in both Sacramento games. The Kings posted the best offensive rating in NBA history last season, but were held to 53 and 50 points during their pair of first halves in the Crescent City this week. Of course, Sacramento heated up in Wednesday’s fourth quarter, but New Orleans still managed to win despite shooting only 7/30 on three-pointers.
Jose/Naji energy.
Good friends Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall both recently made their season debuts in return from injuries and have been trying to make up for lost time with boundless energy off the bench over the past week. NBA analysts often downplay the significance of single-game plus-minus, but it probably didn’t surprise anyone who watched Wednesday’s game that Marshall was a plus-25. The Pelicans seemed to amp up their pace whenever he was on the floor (20 minutes). Marshall and Alvarado aren’t always needed to score, but they dropped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Frontcourt vs. Sacramento.
The New Orleans starting trio of Ingram (23 points, late-game heroics), Zion Williamson (25 points) and Jonas Valanciunas (15 points, 11 rebounds) gave the Kings fits in the two-game series. In Monday’s game, those three went for 67 points, 20 rebounds and 15 assists, despite none of them even reaching 30 minutes played (due to the one-sided win). Meanwhile, Sacramento All-Star center Domantas Sabonis mostly struggled Monday and had to work for much of 23 points and nine rebounds Wednesday.
BY THE NUMBERS
10: New Orleans turnovers, leading to only five Sacramento points. This category helped the offense produce amid a subpar perimeter shooting night.
4-6, 4-1: New Orleans record following a Nov. 12 home loss vs. Dallas, then the Pelicans’ record over their last five games. They’ve beaten Dallas, Denver and Sacramento twice since a Nov. 14 In-Season Tournament victory over the Mavericks.
48-38: Pelicans rebounding advantage, two nights after they pounded the Kings 55-36 in boards.
