The NEW Orleans Pelicans boosted their hopes of securing an automatic playoff berth Thursday with a 135-123 road win over the Sacramento Kings.
In a key Western Conference battle north of California, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum both scored 31 points as the Pelicans completed an impressive win from start to finish.
The result means New Orleans will secure sixth place in the Western Conference if they win their final two games, against Golden State on Friday and against the Los Angeles Lakers at home on Sunday.
The Pelicans were always in control after a devastating first performance in which they led 34-11 at one stage after an 18-0 run.
“From the first down to the last, and came out with our shield,” McCollum said of New Orleans’ aggressive approach in the first quarter.
“Understand the work, understand the preparation, have fun with it and enjoy the blessing of being able to play this game at a high level,” McCollum added.
Also read: Williamson Brings Pelicans to Beat Spurs
Sacramento’s loss leaves them in eighth place in the Western Conference with a 45-35 record – an identical record to ninth-ranked Golden State and the 10th-ranked Lakers, meaning the final rankings will likely be tight.
Golden State improved to 45-35 after getting past the beaten Portland Trail Blazers 100-92 at Oregon.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors’ scoring with 22 points with Jonathan Kuminga adding 19 points.
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Boston Taken Aback
Eastern Conference top-ranked Boston slipped to its second straight loss with a 118-109 loss at home to the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson scored 39 points to continue his stellar recent form. The Knicks guard has now scored 35 or more points in his last five games.
Brunson’s latest effort included six 3-pointers in a 15-of-23 shooting performance.
Also read: Pelicans Use Marshall and Dyson Daniels to Guard Doncic
The Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 48-32, one game behind second-place Milwaukee (49-31) with two games remaining in the regular season.
Boston (62-18) got some lies from its fans late in the game, and Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis had no complaints about the crowd’s response.
“We were surprised at the end for some reason,” Porzingis said. “This is not a team that is loved by our fans. But believe me we will show up when needed.
“We have a week of work now, a few games to recover and time to put things right.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla downplayed his team’s second straight loss, saying a drop in intensity was inevitable once Boston had secured the top spot in the playoffs.
“I actually don’t mind the results of the last two games,” Mazzulla said. “Going into the playoffs with a bunch of wins and feeling good about yourself isn’t necessarily better than going in with a bleeding lip.”
In other games, the Chicago Bulls cruised past the Detroit Pistons 127-105 after 39 points from DeMar DeRozan and 27 points from Nikola Vucevic, ensuring they will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the play-in tournament next week.
In the day’s other game, between two teams that had already been eliminated, the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 124-121. (AFP/Z-3)
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