Pelicans Advance to the In-Season Tournament Semifinals
The New Orleans Pelicans who were the third seed in the West for the In-Season Tournament came into Sacramento last night and defeated the second-seeded Kings 127-117. New Orleans will either face the Los Angeles Lakers or the Phoenix Suns in the semifinals on Thursday. While the Pelicans stars played a big role in this game, so did New Orleans' undrafted players, who provided a spark during a second-quarter run which ultimately led to the Kings not being able to come back. This Pelicans team is young and hungry, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they either gave the Lakers or Suns a run for their money during that semi-final matchup. Let’s look into how the Pelicans achieved this momentous victory.
Sacramento started off the game on fire and looked like they could run away with this game, holding a 14-point lead at one point, but by the end of the first, the Kings had a 36-35 lead. New Orleans would immediately take the lead in the first minute of the second quarter and never look back. The Pelicans outscored the Kings 34-25 to take an eight-point lead going into halftime. That second quarter is when New Orleans role players took over, guys like Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and even seven-foot center Jonas Valančiūnas got some scoring action. New Orleans held their foot on the gas in the second half and never let go. They went toe to toe with the Kings during the third and fourth quarter, resulting in the Kings not gaining much ground when it came to a comeback. New Orleans held a nine-point lead after three quarters, and by the end of it all, they were victorious in Sacramento with a ten-point win 127-117.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans in scoring for the night with 30 points, along with eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Herb Jones finished with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Valančiūnas scored 18 while Trey Murphy III had 16 points. For Sacramento, De’Aaron Fox was the team’s leading scorer with 30 points. Fox also finished with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Domantas Sabonis collected a triple-double in the loss, having 26 points, 13 rebounds, and ten assists, along with two steals, and a block. Who do you have facing the Pelicans in the semi-finals?
