Game: New Orleans Pelicans @ Sacramento Kings
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Odds: Pelicans +3.5, Kings -3.5
Total: 236.5
There has never been more on the line in a game between the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans. In the NBA in-season tournament’s West quarterfinals on Monday night, third-seeded New Orleans takes on second-seeded Sacramento. The winner will go on to Thursday’s tournament semifinals in Las Vegas and face the winner of the Suns-Lakers game being played tomorrow night.
Sacramento won West Group C and went 4-0. The Pelicans’ 3-1 victory put them ahead in West Group B. Kings Big man Domantas Sabonis, who had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists, expressed his excitement after the team defeated the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in the regular season. It’s a “win and you’re in” mentality. What’s interesting is the history between these two teams this season.
The Pelicans are 2-0 against the Kings this season. The two teams played back-to-back games in New Orleans just last month. The Pelicans won by 36 and 5 points. Sacramento had issues defending Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram as New Orleans averaged 123 points in the two victories. On Nov. 20, Ingram scored 31 points and Williamson added 26 to lead the team to a 129-93 victory. Two nights later, Williamson led the team to a 117–112 victory with 25 points while Ingram added 23.
Over the weekend, Williamson made his first back-to-back appearance of the season. Williamson led the Pelicans to a 121-106 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Friday with a modest 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. The next night, in a 124-118 road loss to the Chicago Bulls, he shot 10-of-15 from the floor and scored 27 points.
Williamson had only lost twice in his previous nine games, the most recent one being against Chicago. The fact that his team was outscored 71-57 in the second half was what bothered Pelicans head coach Willie Green the most.
Guard CJ McCollum is expected to be available for New Orleans tonight. He had a recent lung problem, so he did not to travel to Chicago. After missing two games, McCollum made a comeback on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. He also played in Friday’s win over San Antonio, averaging 19.5 points per game.
G Trey Murphy III will also play tonight for the Pelicans. After undergoing knee surgery, he made his season debut on Friday against the Spurs, scoring 18 points in 22 minutes. He was held out of Saturday’s game against the Bulls.
Sacramento defeated the reigning champion Denver Nuggets 123-117 on Saturday to get ready for tonight’s game. In 38 minutes, De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points, dished out a career-high 16 assists, and committed just one turnover. In the fourth quarter, Malik Monk and Fox were a deadly duo. Monk also ended up with 26 points and scored 11 in the final quarter. Fox added 10 points and five assists in the fourth. In the two games against New Orleans, Fox averaged 20 points, but he was only 4-of-19 from three-point range.
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