3rd quarter report
Down by two at the end of the second quarter, the Kings now lead. They took a 91-83 lead against the Pelicans.
The Kings came into the game with extra motivation after the loss they suffered the last time these two teams met. We’ll see if they are able to flip the script or if it will just be more of the same.
Who’s playing
Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans
Current records: Sacramento 12-13, New Orleans 5-20
How to watch
- When: Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Or: Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, Louisiana
- TV: Gulf Coast Sports
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $1.98
What you need to know
The Pelicans will be in front of their home fans on Thursday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They are scheduled to face the Sacramento Kings at 8 p.m. ET at the Smoothie King Center with some extra rest.
Last Sunday, the Pelicans were within reach but failed to close the gap as they lost 121-116 to the Spurs. New Orleans has now taken an “L” in consecutive games.
The Pelicans’ defeat should not overshadow the performances of Trey Murphy III, author of 25 points plus six rebounds and five assists, and Yves Missi, author of a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. This dominant performance also gave Missi a new career high in offensive rebounds (nine).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing it behind a season-high score is even better (just ask the Kings). They topped the Jazz 141-97 on Sunday. Sacramento was heavily favored going into this game, and the results show why.
The Kings earned their victory thanks to several key players, but it was Kevin Huerter leading the way who scored 6 of 9 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points plus five rebounds. The team also had help from Domantas Sabonis, who had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Kings worked as a unit and finished the game with 39 assists. This is a new trend for them: They averaged 24.5 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they’ve averaged 31.2.
New Orleans’ loss dropped their record to 5-20. As for Sacramento, they have performed well recently as they have won three of their last four matchups, which gave a nice improvement to their 12-13 record this season.
The Pelicans were able to pull out a solid win against the Kings in the teams’ last game in April, winning 105-98. Will the Pelicans repeat their success, or will the Kings have a better game plan this time around? We’ll know soon enough.
Odds
Sacramento is a solid 6.5-point favorite over New Orleans, according to the latest NBA Odds.
Oddsmakers had a good idea of the line for this one, as the game opened with the Kings as 5.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 231.5 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
New Orleans has won 8 of its last 10 games against Sacramento.
- April 19, 2024 – New Orleans 105 vs. Sacramento 98
- April 11, 2024 – New Orleans 135 vs. Sacramento 123
- January 7, 2024 – New Orleans 133 vs. Sacramento 100
- December 4, 2023 – New Orleans 127 vs. Sacramento 117
- November 22, 2023 – New Orleans 117 vs. Sacramento 112
- November 20, 2023 – New Orleans 129 vs. Sacramento 93
- April 4, 2023 – Sacramento 121 vs. New Orleans 103
- March 6, 2023 – Sacramento 123 vs. New Orleans 108
- February 5, 2023 – New Orleans 136 vs. Sacramento 104
- April 5, 2022 – New Orleans 123 vs. Sacramento 109
