Trey Murphy III knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, Jeremiah Fears poured in 14 of his 20 points in the second half, and the New Orleans Pelicans sent the Sacramento Kings to their 13th straight loss with a 120-94 victory Monday night.
The losing streak is Sacramento’s longest since the franchise relocated from Kansas City prior to the 1985-86 season.
Murphy continued his torrid shooting stretch, hitting 23 of 40 attempts from beyond the arc (72.5%) over his last three games. Zion Williamson added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and handed out six assists for New Orleans, which snapped a 14-game run in which none of its games were decided by more than 10 points.
Maxime Raynaud led the Kings with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, marking the 7-foot-1 rookie’s eighth double-double of the season. Russell Westbrook finished with 17 points, Devin Carter scored 12, and Nique Clifford added 10.
Westbrook also reached a milestone, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to score at least 27,000 career points. The 18-year veteran now has 27,001, moving within 312 points of Elvin Hayes for 13th on the league’s all-time scoring list.
Sacramento briefly led early after DeMar DeRozan’s driving layup made it 20-15 midway through the first quarter. But Bryce McGowens and Murphy answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to give New Orleans the lead for good, igniting a 25-6 run fueled by eight points from Williamson.
Westbrook’s step-back jumper cut the deficit to nine with 7:36 left in the first half, but the Kings never seriously threatened again.
Sacramento was severely short-handed, missing Zach LaVine (finger), Keegan Murray (ankle), Malik Monk (illness) and Domantas Sabonis (lower back). The four combine to average 62 points per game this season.
Up next:
Kings at Utah on Wednesday.
Pelicans host Miami on Wednesday.
