New Orleans moved another step closer Thursday to achieving one of its biggest goals of 2023-24, to reach the Western Conference playoffs. The Pelicans can make that a reality as soon as Friday at Golden State (9 p.m. tip). In the first half of a back-to-back on national TV, New Orleans took a rapid 9-0 lead Thursday and never trailed, holding off a few Sacramento surges in the second half. The Pelicans guaranteed that they will finish no worse than the West’s seventh seed, but to avoid the play-in tournament altogether, they’ll need to be No. 6. A win Friday over the Warriors – combined with a Phoenix loss at Sacramento – would punch New Orleans’ ticket, as would simply going 2-0 on the weekend (including Sunday's home finale vs. the Lakers). It's unlikely but the Pelicans could also get in by going 0-2 if the Suns also go 0-2.
THREE POINTS
Attacking immediately.
New Orleans established a big-time aggressive tone instantly Thursday, leading by 20-plus points before some of the Golden 1 Center crowd had even settled into their seats. The Pelicans swarmed the Kings on defense, forcing some early disjointed possessions and crowding the elite duo of Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. Both Kings stars got rolling later in the proceedings for a few stretches, particularly Fox in his 33-point outing mostly off the dribble, but the Pelicans still led wire-to-wire.
Scintillating night from CJ.
TNT’s cameras and audio equipment caught one late-game exchange on the New Orleans sideline between Willie Green and CJ McCollum, in which the head coach seemed to reference that McCollum’s excellent 2023 offseason of training and injury recovery was paying off in Game 80 of this regular season. McCollum was on point all Thursday from the perimeter, going 9/12 from the three-point arc, constantly slinging daggers at the Kings as the hosts tried to rally from down big. The 11-year NBA veteran drained four treys in the fourth quarter alone, accounting for 12 of NOLA’s 37 points in that game-deciding stanza. Overall, McCollum had 31 points on 11/18 shooting. Despite battling a wrist injury, Zion Williamson joined McCollum in depositing 31 points, with Sacramento completely unable to keep the powerful lefty from getting into the paint whenever he made up his mind to do so in the second half. Williamson scored 23 points after intermission.
Big weekend ahead.
New Orleans’ Thursday triumph meant no longer having to worry about Sacramento, Golden State or the Lakers below the Pelicans in the standings. The final foe to scratch off that list is Phoenix, which has games left Friday and Sunday at Sacramento and Minnesota, respectively. With the Pelicans one game ahead of the 47-33 Suns, they must stay at least a game in front through 82, because Phoenix owns the tiebreaker (2-1 season series). It’s looking more and more likely that the No. 6 seed will face either Minnesota or Oklahoma City in Round 1 of the West playoffs, with Denver only needing weekend wins at San Antonio and at Memphis to guarantee itself the top seed for a second straight spring.
- Now Playing
- Pelicans Highlights: Zion Williamson with 31 points at Sacramento Kings 4/11/24
- Pelicans Highlights: CJ McCollum with 31 points at Sacramento Kings 4/11/24
- Pelicans Highlights: Trey Murphy III with 27 points at Sacramento Kings 4/11/24
BY THE NUMBERS
27: Franchise-record road wins for New Orleans after Thursday’s victory. The previous mark was 26-15 from the 2007-08 Hornets, who reached Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals and went 56-26 overall.
12/21: New Orleans three-point shooting in the first half, with nine of those buckets coming from two players.
10/19: New Orleans three-point shooting in the second half, adding up to a fantastic 22/40 night.