Pelicans stand up to Kings with balanced effort to advance in IST - ESPN

SACRAMENTO — As the Kings stormed out to a 15-point lead in Monday night's NBA in-season tournament quarterfinal game, the New Orleans Pelicans remained calm.

«We just looked at each other like, 'We're straight,'» Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said.

Having already beaten the Kings twice this season in New Orleans, the Pelicans expected Sacramento to punch early. The key, CJ McCollum said, was to not get knocked out.

Coach Willie Green's game plan at the time was simple: one stop, one score, one stop, one score, that repeated enough times would bring the Pelicans right back into the game, which they eventually won 127-117 to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday.

New Orleans awaits the winner of Tuesday night's matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers in Los Angeles.

«The biggest thing I saw in that game was trust,» Green said. «Our guys just stuck together. They stuck together in the huddle, and they continued to make the right play over and over and over again. When you see a team that has 29 assists and only 14 turnovers, that's a team that's continuing to trust. We want to continue to build on that.»

Monday's game saw the healthiest version of the Pelicans all season, with just Larry Nance Jr. sidelined. A team source told ESPN that since they have nearly their entire roster available, the Pelicans can finally show who they really are — and make a run.

New Orleans had six players finish in double-digit scoring Monday night, led by Brandon Ingram's 30 points. Herbert Jones added 23, followed by Jonas Valanciunas with 18, McCollum with 17 and Trey Murphy III with 16.

Williamson finished with just 10 points, his fewest in a game in his career in which he played 25 minutes or more.

«With the