NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Effort, clutch plays and production from every available player. That was the key for the Pelicans to overcome the absence of Zion Williamson, keep their season alive and avoid a historic defeat.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 19, in addition to grabbing 12 rebounds, and New Orleans booked a place in the NBA playoffs, beating the Sacramento Kings 105-98 on Friday, in the last game of the NBA mini-tournament. repechage
“We stuck together, we supported each other,” Valanciunas said. “We all wanted to get to the playoffs, and we did it by playing well, supporting each other, defensively and offensively, sharing the ball and making the right play. It’s fun to play basketball like that.”
The Pelicans won without leading scorer Williamson, who strained his left thigh during Tuesday’s game, a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the minitournament.
In that game, Williamson reached 40 points.
Without him, New Orleans split the attack and improved to 8-5 this season in games from which Williamson is absent. Six players scored 10 or more points, including reserves Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and José Alvarado (10).
The Pelicans will visit Oklahoma City, the first seed in the West, on Sunday.
Trey Murphy III, who started against Willamson, added 16 points for New Orleans.
De’Aaron Fox scored 35 points for Sacramento, while Domantas Sabonis finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
The game was a test of the Pelicans’ ability to withstand pressure in life-or-death situations. They had squandered two previous opportunities to secure their place in the playoffs at home.
New Orleans lost to the Lakers on Sunday, in their final game of the regular season, so they could not secure the sixth seed. On Tuesday, the Lakers also won.
The Pelicans came into the game with the possibility of becoming the first team in more than half a century to miss the playoffs despite winning 49 games in the regular season. It happened to Phoenix in 1972.
2024-04-20 06:10:00
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