NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hustle plays and production from up and down the lineup helped the New Orleans Pelicans overcome the absence of leading-scorer Zion Williamson, keep their season alive and avoid a historically significant loss.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans booked a spot in the NBA playoffs with a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings in a play-in tournament elimination game on Friday night.
Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas come up HUGE for the Pelicans to clinch the West’s #8 seed setting up a matchup vs. the #1 seed Thunder in Round 1
BI: 24 PTS | 6 REB | 6 AST
JV: 19 PTS | 12 REB | 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/KmaeotxOXb
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2024
“We stayed together. We we supported each other. We played for each other,” Valanciunas said. “We all want to get to the playoffs. And we did it by playing good basketball, by supporting each other, helping each other on defense, on offense, sharing the ball, you know, making a right play. It’s fun basketball to play that way.”
Williamson was sidelined by a left hamstring strain that occurred as he reached the 40-point mark in a play-in loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Undaunted, New Orleans used a balanced approach to improve to 8-5 this season without Williamson. Six players scored 10 or more points, including reserves Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10).
“You get 34 points from your bench, it’s a great night for them, a tough night for us,” Kings coach Mike Brown said.
Trey Murphy III, starting because of Williamson’s absence, added 16 points for New Orleans, which begins a first-round playoff series on Sunday at top-seeded Oklahoma City.
“It feels good. This was a goal at the beginning of the year,” Ingram said of clinching a playoff berth. “We had another opportunity today and we came in and everybody contributed.”
De’Aaron Fox scored 35 points, and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the ninth-seeded Kings, who set up their matchup with New Orleans by defeating No. 10 seed Golden State in their play-in…
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