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The New Orleans Pelicans earned a 140-133 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings before the All-Star break. They were led to victory by veteran guard CJ McCollum who finished the game with 43 points, seven rebounds and two assists shooting 16-of-25 from the field and 7-of-12 from 3-point range.
McCollum's performance gives him the third-most 40-point performances in Pelicans history with five. He spoke on the milestone after the game, explaining how it does not define him as a player.
I don’t play the game for that type of stuff,” McCollum said. “It’s nice to hear and it’s great, but I play the game because I love it. I don’t need basketball, I choose to play basketball every day and I choose to be away from my family. I choose to spend time working on my game at night.
“I think it’s more about the daily habits. If you do what you’re supposed to do consistently, if you take the game seriously, if you maximize your talents and you play long enough, you’ll be able to accomplish those types of things.
Despite the 2024-25 campaign being less-than-ideal for the Pelicans so far, McCollum believes the team still has things to accomplish and could benefit from staying focused.
“We're still very blessed and fortunate to be able to play this sport,” McCollum said. “Obviously, we're not winning games, we've dug ourselves in quite the hole. We haven’t lived up to our personal expectations or outside expectations. But the season isn’t lost, there's still stuff we can take away from this season, there's still some character building that can occur.”
The Pelicans' 13-42 record places them last in the Western Conference and gives them the second-worst record in the NBA, only beating out the Washington Wizards.
New Orleans returns to action next Friday, taking on the Dallas Mavericks on the road. The Pelicans will aim to have more success as the season winds down, giving them something to build on going into the 2025-26 campaign.
