De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis combined for 56 points in the Kings’ In-Season Tournament loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The NBA In-Season Tournament has reached the quarterfinals. After ushering in the return of many injured players, the Pelicans visited Sacramento to play against the “new power in the West” Kings, who had won all 4 games in the tournament.
However, what is surprising is that , despite head coach De’Aaron Fox’s 30 points and Domantas Sabonis’ 26-point triple, the Kings still lost to the Pelicans, whose six players scored in double figures. It was a pity that they failed to chase points. The dream of stopping in the quarterfinals and “winning the first championship in the tournament” was completely shattered.
The Kings got off to a scorching hot start in the quarterfinal matchup, leading by as many as 15 points in the opening quarter. But it didn’t take long for the Pelicans to respond.
In the latter part of the second quarter, as the Pelicans generals regained their touch, the Kings team began to fall into a state of panic. Not only did they encounter turbulence on the offensive end, but they were unable to stop the Pelicans’ wave-like offensive on the defensive end. In just five minutes The game was reversed with a 26:5 victory, and the situation was completely passive. At 5 minutes and 30 seconds of the second quarter, Kings youngster Trey Lyles even punched Pelicans goalkeeper Valancuna. The head of Jonas Valanciunas almost led to a dispute.
While Sacramento did a good job limiting Zion Williamson to just 10 points, it seemingly had no answer for Brandon Ingram. The All-Star forward finished with 30 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, adding eight rebounds, six assists and one steal in 40 minutes.
The rest of the Pelicans’ starters had efficient shooting nights, too. Herbert Jones had 23 points on 61.5-percent shooting, Jonas Valanciunas contributed 18 points on 63.6-percent shooting and CJ McCollum finished with 17 points on 50-percent shooting. Additionally, Pelicans guard Trey Murphy added 16 points on 46.1-percent shooting off the bench.
After the interlude, although the Kings brought the score closer several times, they were still unable to blow the counterattack horn. The final scoreboard stopped at 127 to 117. The Kings’ “First In-Season Tournament” championship dream was shattered, and the Pelicans were sure to win the semi-finals. The ticket to advance will be against the winner of the Lakers or Suns tomorrow (6th), and the semi-finals will be played the day after tomorrow.
In terms of statistics, the Pelicans had ace Brandon Ingram who scored a game-high 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Zion Williams, also the star, had fewer shots, only 10 points, 6 rebounds, He scored 6 assists and 3 steals. Herbert Jones contributed 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Valenciunas had a double-ten score of 18 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, Murphy Trey Murphy III scored 16 points from the bench.
For the Kings, the main point guard Fox contributed 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Shabonis had 26 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and an all-around three-pointer with 2 steals and 1 block. The “Wildcat Double Gun” that year. Malik Monk played as a bench thug and scored 21 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Murray and Huerter scored 14 points and 12 points respectively.
