The New Orleans Pelicans have been the Sacramento Kings’ worst nightmare this season. That trend continued during the teams’ play-in matchup Friday at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, La.
The Kings were thoroughly outplayed by the Pelicans in a 105-98 affair that saw Sacramento’s season come to an end.
The Pelicans used a team effort to overcome Zion Williamson’s hamstring injury. Six different players scored in double figures for New Orleans, led by Brandon Ingram’s 24 points on 10/20 shooting.
The Kings lost every single face-off against the Pelicans this year. Sacramento had a stunning 0-6 record against New Orleans.
It’s the first time that a team has gone 0-6 against another team before the playoffs since 1995.
The Pelicans went 6-0 this season against the Kings thanks to the in-season tournament and play-in tournament.
The last time a team went 6-0 against another team before the playoffs started was 1994-95 (Nuggets over Wolves).
h/t @ESPNStatsInfo
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) April 20, 2024
Over the past few decades, teams have played each other a maximum of four times during the regular season. The introduction of both the play-in tournament in 2020 and the in-season tournament this year made it possible for the Kings and Pelicans to clash as many times as they did.
The Pelicans proved Friday that their regular season dominance over the Kings was no fluke.
