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The New Orleans Pelicans booked their trip to Las Vegas after a 127-117 win over the Sacramento Kings in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal matchup between the two teams.
Zion Williamson didn’t deliver the dominant performance that many have come to expect from the superstar, although the rest of the Pelicans’ rotation stepped up in the win.
Brandon Ingram racked up 30 points to lead New Orleans, adding eight rebounds and six assists while shooting 50 percent from the field. Herb Jones scored a season-high 23 points, including a buzzer-beating tip to end the first quarter. The defensive specialist turned in a solid all-around performance against Sacramento, adding five rebounds and five assists.
NBA fans were impressed with head coach Willie Green’s squad.
New Orleans Pelicans @PelicansNBA
What a play by Herb Jones 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wYkYWhWeYD
Shamit Dua @FearTheBrown
This version of Brandon Ingram is special special. Good rebound, pushes the paces, advances the ball to Herb Jones who ends up at the FT line.
Best player on the court tonight by far
Ball Don’t Stop @balldontstop
Ingram is good enough to propel this Pelicans team deep in the West. He has all the pieces around him. Just has to stay healthy and hungry.
Scott Kushner @ScottDKushner
Brandon Ingram has been incredible tonight.
Not just the scoring, but he’s grabbing contested rebounds, making the smart play passing and defending everywhere on the floor.
Just an awesome all-around performance.
Brenden Nunes @BrendenNunesNBA
Sacramento has done a good job limiting Zion Williamson, but Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum have hit timely shots all night long.
NBA Memes @NBAMemes
Has anyone drafted better than the Pelicans in the last 4 years? pic.twitter.com/NsXlrLUwTg
dean 🦂 @DeanScorpion_
I feel like the Pelicans roster is just full of some of the most underrated players in the league. Zion, BI, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy all better than the consensus gives them credit for
If they can add another playmaker/initiator they are contenders
tony @tonyfrombr
The #Pelicans are THE deepest team in the league when healthy. Dominating the Kings and Jordan Hawkins hasn’t even touched the court.
New Orleans shot 45 percent from three as a team, dishing out 29 assists while committing only 12 turnovers. After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, the Pelicans stormed back to take a 69-61 lead at the break before keeping the Kings at bay throughout the second half.
However, Williamson finished with just 10 points. He only attempted eight shots and committed four turnovers in his 28 minutes on the floor.
Pro Pels Talk @ProPelsTalk
Zion can’t be the 5 if he isn’t going to rebound.
Totally not Phantom💜💛 @Phantomstran6
Is zion injured? Why do the pelicans use him like a role player???? He barely gets any plays or touches
Pepé Silvia ⚜️ @SlayYoung23
Zion tonight pic.twitter.com/FmSc9MssnP
fozz @fozziefr
Bad Zion game but also he’s gotta get more than 8 shots – still everyone else was awesome so it doesn’t matter
Regardless, the Pelicans moved on to the In-Season Tournament semifinals. They’ll play the winner of Tuesday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns for a shot to win the first-ever NBA Cup.
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