National Basketball Association
Sacramento 111, New Orleans 109
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 12, 2024
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials: #74 Curtis Blair, #34 Kevin Cutler, #49 Tom Washington
Attendance: 15488

Domantas Sabonis had 32 points and 20 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the visiting Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 111-109 on Thursday night.

DeAaron Fox and Keegan Murray scored 18 each for the Kings, who outscored the Pelicans 38-28 in the third quarter.

CJ McCollum scored a game-high 36 points, Trey Murphy III had 21 and Dejounte Murray added 20 to lead New Orleans.

Herbert Jones and Dejounte Murray made consecutive field goals to start the third-quarter scoring and increase the Pelicans' advantage to 59-53. DeRozan scored 14 points in a span of 2:14 to help the Kings take a 69-67 lead.

Yves Missi made a layup to tie the score before Sabonis sank a 3-pointer and added a three-point play to help Sacramento open a 79-73 lead.

McCollum later responded with a three-point play, but Keon Ellis made two free throws and Keegan Murray added a field goal to push the lead to 10. McCollum beat the buzzer with a basket that left the Kings with a 91-83 lead at the end of the third quarter.

After a McCollum 3-pointer, Sacramento scored seven straight points to take a 12-point lead, 98-86. McCollum scored 14 to help New Orleans get within two with 1:24 left.

The Pelicans had two chances to tie, but McCollum missed a shot and Malik Monk blocked Dejounte Murray's attempt.

Sabonis scored six points during a 14-0 run that gave Sacramento an early 16-7 lead. Murphy scored the final nine of his 16 points to pull the Pelicans within 28-26 at the end of the first quarter. Sabonis had 12 points and eight rebounds in the period.

Murphy didn't score in the second quarter, but two jumpers by Brandon Boston Jr. and a field goal by McCollum started the scoring in the period and gave New Orleans a four-point lead. The score was tied three times before Daniel Theis' 3-pointer gave the Pelicans their biggest lead of the half, 47-41.

Fox's layup created another tie before Dejounte Murray's basket gave New Orleans a 55-53 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Sacramento   New Orleans
Domantas Sabonis 32 Scoring CJ McCollum 36
Malik Monk 9 Assists Dejounte Murray 9
Domantas Sabonis 20 Rebounds Yves Missi 11
DeMar DeRozan 10 Free Throws Made Trey Murphy III 6
DeMar DeRozan 4 Steals Brandon Boston Jr. 1
De'Aaron Fox 1 Blocks Dejounte Murray 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Sacramento 111 40.2 10-33 27-29 24 50 2 12 11
New Orleans 109 47.0 14-37 17-20 22 43 4 6 17
Upcoming Games
  • New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Indiana. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .190 after a loss.
  • Sacramento will play their next game at home against Denver. The Kings have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .571 after a loss.