CJ McCollum's Huge Game Sinks Kings

The Sacramento Kings fall 133-140 as CJ McCollum leads the New Orleans Pelicans to victory.

Will Zimmerle | Feb 13, 2025

Feb 12, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) reacts to a play against the Sacramento Kings during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

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Sacramento Kings

There's a reason CJ McCollum is one of, if not the most, feared players to suit up against the Sacramento Kings. He added another 'Kings Killer' game to his resume, as his 43 points led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 140-133 victory over the Kings.

McCollum doesn't hide that fact that he still holds a grudge against the Kings for not drafting him, reminding the franchise of their mistake almost every time he suits up against Sacramento.

He was unstoppable tonight, shooting a great 64% from the field and 58.3% from beyond the arc. His only blemish was missing the game-winning floater, but he more than made up for it in overtime to secure the victory.

The Kings looked better in this contest, finishing with 38 assists, one off their season-high, but they were unable to get stops, especially down the stretch.

It took a miracle just to get to overtime, as Malik Monk came flying in to grab the offensive rebound off of a Domantas Sabonis missed free throw. Monk was fouled and hit both freebies to tie the game, but the Kings ran out of gas at the end of the fourth and overtime.

They turned repeatedly to DeMar DeRozan in clutch time, and unlike his big performance against Dallas, DeRozan couldn't find the net down the stretch.

The Kings ball movement tonight was fantastic and easily their best of the Zach LaVine era, but when the game got close and time was running out, they went away from everything that was working all game and relied on iso ball.

With talented players in DeRozan, Malik Monk, and Zach LaVine, that's not the worst strategy, but the clutch-time offense looked stagnant and disjointed tonight. The good news for the Kings is that they don't have to face CJ McCollum again for the rest of the year.

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