Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (40) dunks against New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Tue Apr 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Handle Pelican Defense 121-103

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (48-31) took on the New Orleans Pelicans (40-39) Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center in the “Big Easy”. The Kings have already secured their spot in the playoffs so now it’s all about preparing for mid-April and remaining healthy.

The Kings have had an amazingly injury-free season which accounts, in part, to much of their success. All the credit goes to the training staff that is onboard in Sacramento. Case in point the Kings offense lit up the Pelicans for a 121-103, 18 point win.

The Kings got a slow start in the opening quarter and the Pelicans Brandon Ingram tore up the court in the first quarter scoring 14 points. The Kings may have started poorly but they came on strong in the later minutes of the quarter outscoring the Pelicans 25-22.

Sacramento got fully on board in the second quarter outscoring New Orleans 40-32 and led at the half 65-54. The Kings had successfully taken Ingram out of the game after his hot start.

Sacramento maintained a double digit lead throughout the third quarter. Keegan Murray continued his amazing play shooting 7 of 9 from downtown. After three quarters the Kings had extended their lead to 96-80.

With 3:01 left in the fourth quarter the Kings had a 116-95 lead. They had handled one of the best defenses in the NBA. The Kings clinched the Pacific Division title in yet another milestone in this 2022-’23 season.

Every starter in this game had double digits with De’Aaron Fox leading the pack shooting 23 points. Malik Monk was back in action and finished with 17 points.

This season not only Keegan Murray but also Kevin Huerter were on the most 3-Pt field goals in a season list. In 2022-’23 Murray shot 201 and Huerter was right behind him with 200. Just another measure of the success that the Kings have had this season.

Wednesday night the Kings travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks looking for win #49. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.