McCollum Strikes Again

Kings 133, Pelicans 140

Apparently, the Kings thought the three point shootout started early this year.

Sacramento came out hot from three in the first quarter, but cooled off as the quarter went on. The opposite happened for New Orleans as they caught on fire from three as the game went on. The Kings finished the game a with a respectable 36% from three on 47 attempts, while the pelicans shot 42% from deep on 50 attempts.

The Kings’ six first quarter turnovers allowed New Orleans to stick around throughout the first 12 minutes of action. A peculiar clock malfunction lasted for what had to have been over 10 minutes of time in real life, which broke up whatever flow the game had up to that point. This stoppage in the game didn’t heavily favor one team over the other, as Sacramento just turned a one point deficit into a one point lead by the end of the quarter.

The Pelicans began the second period with a small, three guard lineup that proved to be effective and quickly regained the home team the lead. Valanciunas and company were not able to use their size advantage effectively. The Kings putrid three point defense spawned several open looks for New Orleans in the first half of the second quarter. Wide open three point shots for Pelicans players became a recurring theme throughout the game. The Kings showed some life with a combination of solid defensive stops and effective offense, rocketing out to a 15-0 run. Sacramento’s run was effective enough to grant them a 65-60 halftime lead in NOLA.

The third quarter could be called the Zach LaVine and CJ McCollum Show. Fans got a preview of what we might see on All-Star Saturday Night as guys were raining threes all over the court. LaVine shined in what was his best performance as a King to date. The new addition to the team finished the game with 32 points (12-24 FG, 5-12 3PT) and 10 assists. He seemed to be the only King who could consistently get a bucket for Sacramento. Meanwhile, McCollum caught fire and scored 21 points in the quarter, draining several threes in that time.

The threes continued to rain for New Orleans, but Sacramento turned to their clutch man in DeRozan to lead the way down the stretch. That strategy worked at first, but DeRozan uncharacteristically missed several clutch shots in a row with the game on the line. McCollum, on the other hand, turned up in clutch time and willed the Pelicans to a late fourth quarter lead that had the Kings all but finished. The Kings Killer finished with 43 points (16-25 FG, 7-12 3PT) and 7 rebounds.

Stunningly, the Kings played the foul game well enough to tie things up. The Kings can thank Monk who miraculously grabbed an offensive rebound, similar to the one he grabbed in Dallas, off a Sabonis missed free throw. Monk was fouled and he hit two clutch free throws to tie the game. McCollum had a clean look in the paint to win it but missed maybe the easiest shot he had all night.

McCollum carried his hot shooting into overtime, hitting more triples. A lot of his looks were wide open. You have to wonder why Christie didn’t have his team try to double McCollum at some point. The Kings offense faltered and sputtered to the finish line, lacking the ball movement that earned them the lead in the first place. DeRozan missing clutch shots hurt the team, as the rhythm and pace slowed down to suit DeRozan’s style but the Kings could not reap the usual benefits of his clutch-time scoring.

New Orleans broke their 10-game losing streak with a 140-133 win in overtime. No Zion, no problem. CJ McCollum was even better. This game was one the Kings really needed in such a tight Playoff race, so this will be a disappointing way to head into the break.