The Sacramento Kings are still alive in the Western Conference playoff race thanks to their 140-125 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
Zion Williamson had his best game of the restart, scoring 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting in just 22 minutes.
Entering the day, the Kings had lost each of their first three games since the NBA season restart and had the worst record among all teams still playing in the West at 28-38.
Thursday’s victory moves the Kings into a tie with the Pelicans and Phoenix Suns, but they are still 2.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth and 1.5 games back of the Portland Trail Blazers for ninth.
The Pelicans’ loss is devastating to their playoff pursuit, even with a favorable schedule remaining. They entered the day tied with the San Antonio Spurs and one game back of the Blazers for the No. 9 seed.
New Orleans doesn’t have any games remaining against teams with winning records, but it will need help over the final week of the season to reach the postseason.
Notable Player Stats
Inept Defense Dooms Pelicans
Amid all the excitement about Zion Williamson’s potential to be part of the NBA playoffs in his first season, one thing that got overlooked is how bad he—and the Pelicans—have been on defense all year.
They entered Thursday ranked 18th in defensive efficiency and 27th in points allowed per game (116.7).
Things have been especially alarming since the restart, beginning with the Los Angeles Clippers shooting 25-of-47 from three against New Orleans on Aug. 1.
The Kings had no problem taking advantage of New Orleans’ defense from the jump with 49 points in the first quarter.
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