Sacramento Kings slow McCollum, clean up turnover issues in win over New Orleans Pelicans
De’Aaron Fox manned the point guard position for almost eight seasons in Sacramento after coming out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
The Kings have been plagued by turnovers since trading Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, but they might have solved that problem Wednesday night in New Orleans.
The Kings committed eight turnovers in an unsightly first quarter, but they only had two in the second quarter and one in the second half in a 119-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.
“That was big,” Kings guard Keon Ellis said. “You don’t want to give the other team the ball without being able to at least take a shot, so for us to cut down on the turnovers, definitely huge. It came out to be a close game, so if we had more turnovers, it might not have gone in our favor.”
The Kings finished with 28 assists on 41 made baskets with 11 turnovers.
Ellis came off the bench to score 27 points with five rebounds and two blocked shots for the Kings (28-26), who have won three in a row to move up to ninth in the Western Conference playoff race. Ellis went 10 of 14 from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range.
“Keon’s been doing this all year,” Kings guard Malik Monk said. “I think a lot of people are surprised, but I’m not. I’ve been seeing the work he’s putting in.”
Ellis said he just took the shots the defense gave him.
“My job is real simple,” Ellis said. “It’s just to go out there, space the floor and be ready to shoot. It’s not a complicated role. Just take the open looks and everything takes care of itself.”
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points for Sacramento, going 9 of 17 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Zach LaVine had 23 points and seven assists. Monk added 17 points while Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 48th double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Zion Williamson had 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting with nine rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans (12-42), who have lost 10 in a row. Trey Murphy III scored 19 points. Jose Alvarado had 18. CJ McCollum, who has been a Kings killer, was held to 14 points after going 7 of 17 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range.
Assists and turnovers
On the season, the Kings rank 13th in the NBA in assists (26.6), fifth in turnovers (13.3) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.00). In their first five games without Fox, they ranked 25th in assists (23.8), 29th in turnovers (16.2) and 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44).
The Kings committed 21 turnovers in Monday’s win over the Mavericks. They found a way to win despite being outscored 36-15 in points off turnovers.
When asked about the team’s turnover woes before Wednesday’s game, Monk said: “Yeah, we gotta figure that s--- out. That’s it. Simple as that.”
The first possession of the game resulted in a turnover, leading to a transition 3-pointer by Alvarado. The Kings only led by two after committing four turnovers in the first five minutes, but they opened up a double-digit lead after staging a 12-0 run.
Sacramento went up 31-15 when Ellis hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the run to 18-2. The Kings led 34-26 after getting 13 points from Ellis in the opening period. The Kings shot 61.9% with 10 assists on 13 made baskets, but they committed eight turnovers, resulting in a 9-2 advantage in points off turnovers for the Pelicans.
New Orleans came back to take a 39-37 lead on a basket by Yves Missi early in the second quarter. The Kings reclaimed the lead on a three-point play by LaVine and led 65-63 at the halftime break.
Ellis established a new career high for points in a half with 22, eclipsing his previous high of 20 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 9, 2024.
The Kings went up by 11 late in the third quarter and carried a 92-86 advantage into the fourth.
The Pelicans cut the deficit to two when a Sacramento turnover led to a corner 3-pointer from Antonio Reeves with 5:36 to go, but a deep 3 by LaVine, a couple of inside baskets by Sabonis and a turnaround jumper by DeRozan helped the Kings secure the win.
Guarding Zion
Williamson was questionable for Wednesday’s game due to return to competition reconditioning. McCollum was questionable due to personal reasons after missing Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both were upgraded to available in the hours leading up to the game.
The Kings couldn’t stop Williamson in Saturday’s 123-118 win over the Pelicans. Williamson, a 6-foot-6, 284-pound freak of nature, put up a season-high 40 points, going 16 of 21 from the field and 8 of 11 at the free-throw line.
Williamson is indefensible around the basket, but he’s a reluctant shooter and a willing passer if the defense can keep him from getting inside.
“Unfortunately, in our game (Saturday), he didn’t have to pass too much. He was passing to the basket,” interim Kings coach Doug Christie said. “I think you have to put him in positions where you try to make him pick up the ball and he can’t always get to his business. He has to make that second move. That’s really where you see his passing and his willingness to pass, so that’s always your game plan, to make sure he doesn’t get too close to the basket, but he’s just a special, special talent.”
Stopping CJ
McCollum scored 31 points in Saturday’s loss to the Kings, going 10 of 19 from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. The Kings did a much better job this time, holding McCollum to 14 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He went 0 of 5 from 3-point range.
Going into Wednesday’s game, McCollum had averaged 32.0 points while shooting 59.7% from the field and an eye-popping 63.6% from 3-point range in his past four games against the Kings.
“I’ve seen him do that against a lot of people,” Christie said before the game. “More than anything, when you look at a guy like CJ, he has the ability to score at all the levels. He has a floater. He can get to the basket. He has a deep 3. He has the step-in 3. He has the 3 off the pick-and-roll. And then in transition, he’s hunting for shots.
“At the same time, he shoots free throws at a high percentage, so if you foul him, he gets to the line, but when I watch his game, the pace of his game is always what stood out to me. You want to speed him up, but he tries to play at his own pace and he really does a good job of it, and to his credit he enjoys the moment. He’s a baller. You’ve got to appreciate that. It’s an opportunity and a challenge for us to try to slow a guy like that down.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
