McCollum’s 43 points propels Pelicans past visiting Kings

The Sacramento Kings failed to contain CJ McCollum and the Pelicans Thursday night, falling 140-133 in overtime of their final game before the ASB.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Feb 13, 2025, 8:04 PM

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Zach LaVine had his best showing as a member of the Sacramento Kings, recording 32 points and 10 assists on 12/24 shooting, but they fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 140-133 in overtime Thursday night.

Known Kings-killer since the organization didn’t draft him in the 2013 NBA Draft, CJ McCollum ended the night with 43 points on 16/25 after just six points in the first half.

It was a career night on the glass for Domantas Sabonis, who had 22 points and 28 rebounds (13 offensive), but poor defense continues to plague Sacramento.

They head into the All-Star break with a 28-27 record, with some much-needed practice time expected after the break.

Per Kings: Tonight’s game at NOP marks Zach LaVine’s eighth career game with 10+ assists.

It is the first time in his career that he has had 30+ points and 10+ assists.

— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) February 14, 2025

Kings at New Orleans Injury Report

Sacramento

Devin Carter (G-League) – OUT
Isaiah Crawford (G-League) – OUT

New Orleans

Zion Williamson (return to competition reconditioning) – OUT
Dejounte Murray (right achilles) – OUT
Herbert Jones (right shoulder) – OUT
Kelly Olynyk (not with team) – OUT
Brandon Boston (left ankle) – OUT
Jamal Cain (non-COVID illness) – OUT
Keion Brooks Jr. (G-League) – OUT

Sacramento’s Starting Five: Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

New Orleans’ Starting Five: Jose Alvarado, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Javonte Green, Yves Missi

Kings at Pelicans Game Notes

Playing their second game in New Orleans in as many nights, the Kings were looking to jump to a better start against their opponents without star player Zion Williamson. While it seemed to be trending in that direction Thursday night, the Pelicans had an early 7-0 run that gave them a 12-6 advantage over Sacramento.

But, the Kings found a rhythm from beyond the arc, converting five of their first three-point attempts and getting on the offensive glass for second-chance attempts. An unfortunate clock malfunction occurred at 2:12, with the Kings trailing 23-22, that lasted for nearly 15 minutes of real-time while the Smoothie King Center staffers brought in an old-school, on-the-floor shot clock as a temporary solution.

Continuing to monitor interim head coach Doug Christie’s rotations with the post-deadline roster, he had LaVine as the feature in a bench-heavy unit featuring Keon Ellis, Jake LaRavia, Trey Lyles, and Jonas Valanciunas. The group managed to force turnovers, largely thanks to the disruptive defense of Ellis and LaRavia, getting out in transition on the other end.

Clock issues continued for the remainder of the first quarter before the game finally concluded, with Sacramento holding a one-point advantage, 29-28.

Some shortcomings showed again after allowing New Orleans to score 70 points in the paint last night. Valanciunas has good size but unexceptional footspeed and athleticism to deter look at the rim.

Alvarado scored his 14th points (on 5/6 shooting) early in the frame, stepping up in the absence of Williamson — with Sacramento’s slew of turnovers not doing themselves any favors.

Sabonis, DeRozan, Monk, and Murray re-entered the game about four minutes in the second frame, facing a one-point deficit. Ellis got the chance to run with the four other starters as well.

Back-to-back triples from Jordan Hawkins gave New Orleans a quick 48-41 lead with 6:57 left before Sacramento responded with a 15-0 run of their own — thriving while playing in the open court.

By halftime, the Kings had a 65-60 lead with 22 assists on their 26 made baskets. They were favored in many notable statistics, tallying nine offensive rebounds, 30 points in the paint compared to New Orleans’ 22, while both sides converted nearly 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three.

Once again, it was an offensive showcase, with LaVine leading the way with 16 points on 7/11 shooting up to that point.

Zach LaVine. pic.twitter.com/Pb8Axz1rgp

— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) February 14, 2025

In the third quarter, Pelicans head coach Willie Green elected to start 6’10 Karlo Matkovic in place of Missi, likely to help their rebounding efforts. But, it didn’t seem to accomplish that as Sabonis continued to dominate the glass.

Defense was nowhere to be seen as both offenses surged and easily converted. LaVine seemed to have worked through some of his growing pains in his sixth showing wearing royal purple, helping add to their scoring total.

Threes continued to rain down in Smoothie King Center, with both sides converting at least 14 triples by the end of the third. New Orleans recorded 38 points in the frame, 21 coming from McCollum, who went 4/7 from three.

The frame ended with McCollum pettily handing the ball to Ellis after drawing a foul on the defensive guard. In response, Ellis threw the ball back to him, while Christie had an adamant reaction. Double technicals were assessed, bringing some energy to the game.

CJ gives the ball to Keon, Keon throws it back at him. Double technicals. Doug standing up for his player. Love it. pic.twitter.com/719IUtwFsZ

— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) February 14, 2025

Their offensive explosion allowed the home squad to build a 98-95 lead as 12 minutes of game time remained. It didn’t take long for the Pelicans to build their largest advantage, going up nine by converting threes from the likes of McCollum, Alvarado, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Christie rolled out the double Lithuanian lineup as Sabonis and Valanciunas shared the floor, but turnovers caused that grouping to struggle—making a post entry pass seemed to be a difficult task for the Kings.

Sacramento’s starting group took the floor down 111-108 with six minutes on the clock. As if often the case, DeRozan stepped his game up in the clutch.

Meanwhile, LaVine surpassed 13,000 career points as he took his nightly total into the thirties. While his guards took and made tough looks, Sabonis was feasting on the offensive glass.

But McCollum wouldn’t let his group down easily. He led a late 6-0 run for the Pelicans, who took a one-point (123-122) lead with 34.1 seconds left.

The end of an ugly possession featured DeRozan driving the basket and not receiving a foul call he and his coaching staff seemed to believe he deserved. Having to foul from there, Murphy knocked down both free throws.

Leading 125-122 with 10.2 seconds left, the Pelicans elected to foul. Monk converted both, leaving the scoreboard reading 125-124 with 9.4 seconds left.

Unable to force the five-second violation on the inbound, it was Robinson-Earl’s turn at the charity stripe. He converted both as the Kings had no timeouts remaining as the free-throw game continued on both sides.

After being intentionally fouled, Sabonis made the first but missed the second, which played into his team’s favor. Monk wiggled around McCollum on the perimeter before sneaking in for the offensive rebound, earning two free throws right after.

He knocked down both, knotting it up at 127 with less than 10 seconds left. McCollum, who had been on fire in the second half, somehow missed a wide-open layup that could’ve ended the game. Horrible defense from Sacramento didn’t end up being the end of their night.

Five more minutes were put on the clock as overtime began.

McCollum rose to the occasion, carrying over his red-hot streak from the second half. He quickly converted three triples as the Pelicans led 138-133 with 1:22 remaining.

Unable to get stops, the Kings fell 140-133 in overtime despite LaVine’s 32-point, 10-assist performance and Sabonis recording a career-high 28 rebounds (13 offensive).

McCollum ended the night with 43 points on 16/25 from the field after tallying just six points in the first half.

Sacramento’s final game before the All-Star break is a loss, with some much-needed practice days hopefully able to help them after the break.