Heading into Thursday night’s game, a critical match up in Sacramento’s difficult journey to regain the 6th seed, many Kings fans likely felt the same – the Kings were probably going to blow it, and the evening certainly seemed headed that way early on. Throughout most of the first quarter, Sacramento struggled to hit shots, while the Pelicans struggled to miss, and the Kings found themselves down by 34-11 within 10 minutes of play; however, a late first quarter surge by De’Aaron Fox gifted the Kings a breath of hope, and they charged back into the game throughout the second and third quarters.
Unfortunately for the Kings, Zion Williamson boulder-like shoulders carried the Pelicans team throughout Sacramento’s third quarter run, scoring 17 points in the period, and after the Kings pulled within a single bucket, New Orleans finished the last few minutes of the third on a 20-13 run. CJ McCollum took over in the 4th, knocking down tough three-pointer after tough three-pointer, and before they knew it, the Kings once again found themselves down 23 points about 5 minutes into the final quarter. The game was completely over at that point, and even though a late flurry of buckets by Sacramento breathed some life into the team and the crowd, the deficit was too large too late for the Kings to overcome. De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 33 points and Harrison Barnes scored another 22, while Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum both put in 31 points for New Orleans.
Playoff Impact
Beyond a single game’s impact, tonight’s loss was especially devastating for Sacramento. They are now guaranteed to appear in the play-in tournament, as they cannot statistically overtake the Pelicans, and at this point, they are more than likely battling to stay out of the 9th and 10th seed, rather than competing for 7th. With the Warriors win over the Blazers, Sacramento has entered into a three-way record tie with the Lakers and the Warriors for the 8th, 9th, and 10th spots in the West; however, the Kings own both tiebreakers, meaning the Lakers or Warriors must finish one game ahead of the Kings to snag 8th. If that were to happen, the Kings would be forced to win both the 9th-10th match up, and the game against the loser of the 7th-8th round to make the actual playoffs. Winning their final two contests against the Suns and Blazers will guarantee Sacramento’s placement in the play-in tournament. Their destiny rests in their hands.
Game Notes
- Davion Mitchell once again played extremely well in Malik Monk’s absence. The third-year guard scored 13 points and dished out 5 assists while shooting 5 of 8 from the floor, including both of his three-point attempts. If Sacramento is going to fight their way through the play-in tournament, they’re going to need similar contributions from Mitchell going forward.
- The Kings actually shot well from deep (16/38, 42%), but their lack of attention and execution in defending the opposite three-point line spelled their doom, as the Pelicans made 22 of their 40 three-point attempts, good for a red hot 55% accuracy.
- The Kings did not lead at any point throughout the night.
