Balanced Pelicans oust Kings, will meet Thunder in playoffs - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — 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 Friday night.

The Pelicans won without leading scorer Zion Williamson, who strained his left hamstring right 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 improved to 8-5 this season without Williamson in the lineup. Six players scored 10 or more points, including reserves Larry Nance Jr. (13), Naji Marshall (11) and Jose Alvarado (10).

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Trey Murphy III, starting because of Williamson's absence, added 16 points for New Orleans.

De'Aaron Fox scored 35 points for Sacramento, and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 14 rebounds. The Kings missed the playoffs for 17th time in the last 18 seasons. They finished 0-10 when scoring fewer than 100 points in 2023-24.

The game was a test of the Pelicans' ability to handle the pressure of a do-or-die game after squandering two previous chances to lock up a playoff berth at home.

New Orleans lost to the Lakers in their regular-season finale on Sunday, missing a chance to lock up the sixth seed, before losing again to the Lakers on Tuesday. They entered their matchup with the Kings facing the possibility of becoming the first 49-win team