NEW ORLEANS — The hustle plays and production from top to bottom of the lineup helped New Orleans Pelican overcame the absence of top scorer Zion Williamson, kept their season alive and avoided another historic loss.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs with a 105-98 victory over the home team. Sacramento Kings in a single-elimination match in the tournament on Friday night.
“We were together. We supported each other. We played for each other,” Valanciunas said. “We all want to make it to the playoffs. And we did that by playing good basketball, supporting each other, helping each other on defense, on offense, sharing the ball, you know, making the right play. Playing basketball that way is fun.”
Williamson was sidelined with a left hamstring strain that occurred as he reached the 40-point mark in Tuesday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Undaunted, New Orleans used balanced play to improve to 8-5 this season without Williamson. Six players scored 10 points or more, including reserve Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10).
“You get 34 points off your bench, it was a great night for them, a tough night for us,” Kings coach Mike Brown said.
Trey Murphy III, starting in Williamson's absence, added 16 points for New Orleans, which begins its first-round playoff series Sunday at top-seeded Oklahoma City.
“It feels good. This was a goal at the beginning of the year,” Ingram said of earning a playoff spot. “We got another chance today and we stepped in and everyone contributed. ”
De'Aaron Fox scored 35 points, and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the ninth-seeded Kings, who set up a showdown with New Orleans by defeating 10th-seeded Golden State in the opener. their play-in performance.
“We were a little passive offensively and not all of us were aggressive in our play tonight,” Brown said, referring to the combined 4-for-17 shooting of young starters Keegan Murray (4 for 12) and Keon Ellis (0 for 5).
“We have to be able to put the ball in the net,” added Brown, whose team was outscored 58-44 inside and missed seven of 22 free throws. “You have to be able to finish and you have to get to the free throw line and convert.”
The game was a test of the Pelicans' ability to handle the pressure of a do-or-die game after squandering two previous opportunities to clinch a playoff spot at home.
New Orleans lost to the Lakers in the regular-season finale on Sunday, missing out on a chance to earn the sixth seed, before losing again to the Lakers on Tuesday. They entered the game against the Kings facing the possibility of becoming the first 49-win team in over 50 years (Phoenix in 1972) to miss the NBA playoffs.
Instead, New Orleans improved to 6-0 against Sacramento this season, becoming the first team to go 6-0 in a season (no playoff series) against an opponent since Denver against Minnesota in 1994- 95.
“We deserve it. That's how we felt going into this game,” Nance said. “We deserve to be in the play-offs. You don't win 49 games by accident.”
The Pelicans also extended their streak of having never missed the playoffs since the play-in tournament was adopted by the NBA in 2020. Because of the play-in loss to the Lakers, the Pelicans entered the playoffs continues as the number eight seed.
The Pelicans were sloppy early, committing six turnovers in the first quarter that led to an 11-point Kings lead. Sacramento, which was missing Malik Monk (right knee) and Kevin Huerter (left shoulder) from its lineup, led 24-17 after a Herb Jones layup led to Fox, who scored 18 points in the first half.
CJ McCollum's layup and Murphy's 3 helped the Pelicans quickly close the gap, and New Orleans took a 13-point lead into the second half.
Marshall gave the Pelicans a boost with a 3 and a steal from Murray that he converted for a layup. Murray injured his hip when he fell while losing the ball. He went to the locker room shortly after but returned in the second half.
Valanciunas' short hook and Ingram's layup gave the Pelicans a 53-40 lead late in the quarter before Fox's 3 cut the Kings' lead to 54-45 at halftime.
But the Pelicans still led by 10 points or more for most of the second half, growing to as much as 20 points in the fourth quarter.
