The Sacramento Kings continue to try to recover the positions that the terrible start to the season caused them to lose. Mike Brown’s team added its fourth win in five games and returned to a 50% winning percentage (13-13) after beating New Orleans 109-111, moving closer to play-in positions from which it has threatened to collapse. The Californians suffered against the Pelicans who regained strength and are starting to be more recognisable, but they relied on an inspired Domantas Sabonis to lead them to victory.
The Lithuanian punished the locals’ shortcomings in the internal game to become master of the paint, where 14 of his 15 shots came from and where he boasted enormous efficiency (10/14). Thus, he managed to reach 32 points, and also extended his rebounding power to reach 20 points, becoming the first player to score 30+20 between points and rebounds this year. His dominance carried his team for much of the night, but as the fourth quarter arrived, it faded and it was the others’ turn to take over.
Curiously, it was not DeMar DeRozan, his main ally throughout the duel with 29 points, who helped the most in this regard, but rather it was Keegan Murray and De’Aron Fox, both authors of 18, who took on the burden of the goal and combined for 14 of the 20 points Sacramento scored in the entire fourth quarter. Lacking the two most important references, Brown’s team begins to have problems accumulating points and risks throwing away a game in which they were ahead by 10 with 3 minutes to go (99-109), but, despite CJ’s tenacity McCollum, ends up surviving.
McCollum remains at the gates
And the former Blazers player, with 17 of his 36 goals in the final stretch, came close to providing a miracle to those present at Smoothie King Arena, who nevertheless saw his team swimming towards the shore. Willie Green’s men had two options to force extra time, but first McCollum himself, who looked for one floating on the scoreboard, and then Dejounte Murray, who was blocked by Keegan as he went to shoot from the free throw, wasted them, allowing the visitors to breathe a sigh of relief. Although with more suffering than expected, the triumph accompanied them to California.
NOLA, for its part, sees how another loss, its 21st in 26 games, adds to its locker and sinks them even further as the worst team in the West. Even with the losses of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, they were able to find enough resources to get back on their feet, but they failed to bring joy to the fans who have received nothing but bad news this season.
(Cover photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
