NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fast-paced play and production from top to bottom of the lineup helped the New Orleans Pelicans overcome the absence of leading scorer Zion Williamson, keep their season alive and avoid a historically significant 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 Sacramento Kings in a play-in tournament playoff game on the night of Friday.
Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas show up HUGE as the Pelicans clinch the West’s No. 8 seed, setting up a showdown against the No. 1 Thunder in the first round
BI: 24 PTS | 6REB | 6AST
JV: 19 PTS | 12 REB | 2 BLACK pic.twitter.com/KmaeotxOXb-NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2024
“We got together. We support each other. We play for each other,” Valanciunas said. “We all want to make 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 a play right. It’s fun to play basketball that way.
Williamson was sidelined with a strained left hamstring that occurred when he scored 40 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Undaunted, New Orleans used a balanced approach to improve to 8-5 this season without Williamson. Six players scored 10 or more points, including reserves Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10).
“You get 34 points off the bench, it’s a big night for them, a tough night for us,” Kings coach Mike Brown said.
Trey Murphy III, starting in Williamson’s absence, had 16 points for New Orleans, which begins a first-round playoff series Sunday at first-place Oklahoma City.
“This is good. This was a goal at the beginning of the year,” Ingram said of earning a playoff spot. “We had another opportunity today and we came 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 their showdown with New Orleans by defeating 10th-seeded Golden State in their play-in debut.
“We were a little passive offensively and we weren’t all aggressive with our play tonight,” Brown said, alluding to a combined 4-of-17 shooting from young starters Keegan Murray (4-of-12) and Keon Ellis (0-of-5). ).
“We have to be able to put the ball in the box,” added Brown, whose team was outscored 58-44 inside and missed seven of 22 free throws. “You have to be able to finish and 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 blowing two previous chances to clinch a playoff spot at home.
New Orleans lost to the Lakers in the regular season finale on Sunday, missing a chance to clinch the sixth seed, before losing again to the Lakers on Tuesday. They entered the matchup with 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 (without a playoff series) against an opponent since Denver against Minnesota in 1994. -95.
“We deserve it. That’s how we felt coming into this game,” Nance said. “We deserve to be in the playoffs. You don’t win 49 games by accident.”
The Pelicans also extended a 7th-seed streak, never missing the playoffs since the play-in tournament was adopted by the NBA in 2020. Because of their play-in loss to the Lakers, the Pelicans enter the playoffs as the 8th seed. key.
The Pelicans were sloppy early, committing six first-quarter turnovers that led to 11 Kings points. Sacramento, which was without Malik Monk (right knee) and Kevin Huerter (left shoulder) in its lineup, led 24-17 after a Herb Jones turnover led to a layup by Fox, who scored 18 first-half points.
CJ McCollum’s reverse layup and Murphy’s 3 helped the Pelicans quickly close the gap, and New Orleans built a 13-point lead in the second quarter.
Marshall gave the Pelicans a jolt with a 3 and a steal from Murray, which he converted into a dunk. Murray injured his hip when he fell while losing the ball. He went to the locker room shortly after, but returned for the second half.
Valanciunas’ short shot and Ingram’s layup put the Pelicans up 53-40 late in the half before Fox’s 3 helped the Kings cut it to 54-45 at halftime.
But the Pelicans held a lead of 10 or more points for much of the second half, ballooning to 20 in the fourth quarter.
