Pelicans face Kings, hope to bring road success home

The New Orleans Pelicans have been winning on the road.

At home, they’ll try to do better, beginning with a game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

The Pelicans’ first two games after the All-Star break were impressive road performances — a 15-point win over the juggernaut Phoenix Suns on Friday and a 28-point victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

That extended the Pelicans’ road winning streak to five games, but they went 2-4 on a homestand right before the break.

If CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram maintain their recent level of play, the home wins should start adding up as well.

In the victories over the Suns and Lakers, McCollum averaged 27.0 points, six assists and 5.5 rebounds, making 19 of 33 field-goal attempts and 6 of 13 3-pointers.

Ingram averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds, making 17 of 35 field-goal tries.

«Those two guys set the tone for us,» Pelicans coach Willie Green said. «When they are playing like that and playing off of each other and making the simple plays, it’s beautiful basketball to watch.»

New Orleans’ defense was outstanding in both games, holding the Suns to their lowest point total in eight games and forcing 23 Lakers turnovers, including 16 in the first half.

«We just wanted to have active hands, be aggressive in our pick-and-roll coverages and cause as many deflections as possible,» Green said.

In both games, the Pelicans took control with a high-scoring third quarter — outscoring Phoenix 42-31 and the Lakers 44-25.

Sacramento had a big third quarter of its own Monday night in Oklahoma City. The teams were tied at 59 at halftime, and Oklahoma City scored the first nine points of the third quarter. But Sacramento outscored the Thunder 40-22 the rest of the quarter to take a 99-90 lead.

The Kings finished on a 29-14 run that completed a 131-110 win, ending a four-game losing streak.

«I just thought overall, we did a good job of playing with pace,» Kings interim head coach Alvin Gentry said. «We did a good job of passing up a good shot and creating a great shot.»

Gentry changed his starting lineup, replaced Maurice Harkless at power forward with Trey Lyles, who was acquired in a trade that sent Marvin Bagley III to the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 10. Lyles scored 24 points in his first start with the Kings.

«(Lyles) is mobile, he can shoot the ball, put it on the floor,» said De’Aaron Fox, who led the Kings with 29 points and a season-high 10 assists. «He can do whatever we need him to do. Looking forward, that’s something that we really expect out of him.»

New Orleans is tied with Portland for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference, but Sacramento is still in contention. The Kings sit in 13th place, just three games behind the Pelicans and Trail Blazers.

Sacramento can clinch the season series against New Orleans by winning Wednesday night. The Kings won 113-109 on Oct. 29 in New Orleans and 112-99 on Nov. 3 in Sacramento. The series will conclude April 5 in Sacramento.

–Field Level Media