The New Orleans Pelicans were up on the Sacramento Kings by 50 points with just 9:40 remaining in the game but did not pull their final starter until three minutes later. Naji Marshall replaced Trey Murphy III, so it was hardly a reprieve for Mike Brown's Kings.
Willie Green's Pelicans were focused solely on their NBA Playoffs goal, not sentimental sportsmanship. Learning to respond on the road after a comprehensive beating at home is part of the process for any championship contender.
“(The Clippers game) was definitely a teaching moment. You lose a game, you want to see what you did well and see what you need to improve on,” Green said. “At the end of the day, we don’t want to be an emotional team and hang our hats with every single win and loss.”
Green got the Pelicans ready for the moment in Sacramento. Zion Williamson and Jose Alvarado were unavailable but CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram led the way against the revenge-seeking Kings. It was a great start to a five-game West Coast road trip serving as a pre-playoff stress test before the NBA trade market ramps up.
“The key for us was to have a bounce-back game after the Clippers (loss),” Green said after the win. “Play with force, make sure we get to our spacing, make sure our defense is sound, that we are finishing possessions. We did that tonight. It happened to be against Sacramento but no matter who it was we want to come out with that type of intention to play our style.”
Style? This win definitely came with style points.
“Yea, it was beautiful,” Green chuckled. “Just wire to wire it was fun basketball to watch. They executed on both ends of the floor and you know, you have games where it just gets that way. We got a resilient group and to their credit, we watched the film of the Clippers game and we knew would could be better. Our spacing could be better, (play with) more force. Our guys came out tonight and executed.”
Pelicans play with pride, pull no punches
Though styles make fights, it is hard not to notice how the Pelicans are beating the Kings.
“We're a team that is capable of shooting the ball well. We've been trending in the right direction the last 15 games or so, but it started with our defense,” Green said. “Our ability to guard (De'Aaron) Fox and (Malik) Monk and Huerter and Sabonis and all those guys. Sacramento has a really good team. We know this is a challenging building to play in but our guys were locked in.”
It was a show-no-mercy, pull-no-punches kind of night for the Pelicans. CJ McCollum had 30 points and more rebounds (7) than missed shots (5). Brandon Ingram added 15 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, a block and a steal. Eight players record a block for New Orleans, tying a franchise record. Brown understood it was nothing personal Sacramento, just business.
“Not much to say,” Brown admitted in his postgame press conference. “They flat-out kicked our behind. One thing I will say is I feel sorry for the fans who spent their money to come out and watch the game today. They came out here and just flat-out kicked our ass and did it for four quarters. I’m sorry, Sacramento fans, for coming and spending your money today.”
There is no crying in baseball and no do-overs in the Association. The Pelicans rose to the occasion and now have another data point showing they respond well to rough nights regardless of who is available. New Orleans does not get too high or low when it comes to regular season wins. This locker room is focused on stacking good days together so they peak during the NBA Playoffs.
“It's hard to beat a team four times,” Green allowed. “We understand that but there's certain matchups in the NBA that are suited for certain teams. We seem to match up well with Sacramento. We've got to play them again and I'm sure when that time comes they'll be ready. We'll be ready too but we had a good night tonight. We'll take it.”
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