The New Orleans Pelicans Brandon Ingram (14) takes a jump shot over the Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox(5) and Chris Duarte (3) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sun Jan 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings had not had a great season against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Kings entered Sunday with a 0-3 record against the Pelicans this year. On Sunday, the Kings looked to get their first win of the season against the Pels.

The Kings were coming off a tough stretch of game, albeit at home. The Pelicans came into town having last played on Friday against the Clippers. The Pelicans lost that game. The Kings last played on Friday night, where they defeated the Toronto Raptors 135-130.

The tip-off on Sunday was set for 3 PM PST in Sacramento. The Kings would lose to the Pelicans by the final 133-100.

In the first quarter, the Kings offense started to get ice cold. The Kings had only managed 12 points at the 4:00 mark left to go in the quarter. On the other hand, the Pelicans found a rhythm early to put together a solid first quarter. The Pelicans outscored the Kings in the first quarter 33-21 to jump out to a quick lead. The Kings would need to take better care of the ball moving forward against a Pelicans team that refuses to lose to the Kings.

As the second quarter opened up, Kings fans were looking for better energy from the Kings. The Kings wouldn’t appear to be turning the page from the first quarter early in the second. The struggles shooting continued as the Pelicans shots were seemingly all falling.

The Kings would get blown off the floor for the rest of the quarter as they were outscored 39-26 in the second quarter. The Kings would take a 72-47 deficit into halftime. It was one of the more ugly halves of basketball this year in Sacramento.

The second half of this game doesn’t even deserve per-quarter breakdowns. This game was just a pathetic showing from the Kings from start to finish. The Kings had no energy on the defensive end, and that translated to the offensive end.

The Kings were outscored 31-14 in the third quarter as the game ballooned to a 50-point deficit for the Kings. Yes, you read that right, 50 points. The Kings would need to do some serious soul-searching after the atrocious performance.

The Kings had three tough losses, all in the last couple of weeks. The Kings losses to Portland, Charlotte, and now New Orleans were tough to swallow, all for their own reasons. In the fourth quarter, the Kings got a bit of life from the bench by outscoring the Pelicans 39-30. The Kings would lose the game 133-100.

Up Next: The Kings will go on the road to take on the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday at 4 PM PST.