Zion Williamson scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Sacramento Kings 133–123 on Thursday night. Trey Murphy III added 21 points, while Saddiq Bey contributed 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, as New Orleans snapped a two-game losing streak following a four-game win run.
Precious Achiuwa led the Kings with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 19 points and 10 assists. Sacramento, which has the NBA’s worst record at 14–50, dropped its ninth straight home game and is now 2–4 after a franchise-worst 16-game losing streak.
New Orleans led 67–61 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter with a 15–0 run that gave the Pelicans a 14-point cushion. The Pelicans made 12 3-pointers compared to Sacramento’s eight.
Dejounte Murray, the Pelicans’ All-Star point guard, did not play as part of his return-to-competition reconditioning. Kings forward Keegan Murray missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injury.
DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points for the Pelicans, moving into 19th place on the NBA’s career scoring leaders list.
Up next: The Pelicans visit the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, while the Kings host the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night.
