BBNBA: Kings Knocked Out By Pelicans, Pacers Oust Celtics During In-Season Tournament

The Sacramento Kings took on the New Orleans Pelicans at home on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament. Sacramento came into the matchup as the #2 seed while the Pelicans were the No. 3 seeded team.

Former Kentucky Wildcat De’Aaron Fox led the Kings in points scored with 30 in 40 minutes. The Kings got off to a hot start as they led New Orleans 32-17 in the first quarter. Although Fox only had four points going into the second quarter, his fellow UK teammate Malik Monk shined, ending the quarter with eight points of his own, with six of those eight coming from behind the arc.

Even though Sacramento was once up by 15 points in the first quarter, the Pelicans were able to make a comeback at the end of the first and only trailed by one going into the second quarter. The second period was a less-than-ideal showing for Sacramento as they were outscored 34-25. Going into the half Fox came away with 12 points and Monk headed into the locker room with 11.

In the fourth, Sacramento got within five points of the Pelicans as they trailed 107-102 with eight minutes remaining. But with four minutes remaining, New Orleans had increased their lead to 11 points and they just kept running away with the game as the Kings could not break a double-digit barrier. Fox rounded out the second half with 18 points while Monk came away with a total of 21 points. Fellow former Wildcat Trey Lyles had five points in 16 minutes played in the Kings’ loss, which knocked Sacramento out of the tournament.

Pacers on a Hot Streak

Although the two former UK players for the Indiana Pacers, Isaiah Jackson and Oscar Tshiebwe, did not play due on Monday night, their team showed up and showed out against the Boston Celtics.

Jackson has been averaging 4.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this season while shooting 55.9% from the field. Tshiebwe has been playing for the Pacers G-League squad but was recently called up to the big leagues. However, he has yet to officially make his NBA debut.

The Pacers were carried past the Celtics by All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, who put up his first triple-double of his NBA career with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists. Veteran NBA player, Buddy Hield, also put up 21 points in the Pacers win over Boston, which sends them into the semifinal round of the In-Season Tournament. On Thursday, Indiana will take on the winner of tonight’s matchup between the Knicks and Celtics in the semifinals.

12/04/2023 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	127-117 L vs. NOLA	30	10-25 (1-7)	5	4	1	0	6	-9	39
Malik Monk (SAC)	127-117 L vs. NOLA	21	7-14 (5-9)	3	5	2	0	3	-17	32
Trey Lyles (SAC)	127-117 L vs. NOLA	5	1-4 (0-3)	1	6	0	0	0	-2	16
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	122-112 W vs. BOS	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oscar Tshiebwe (IND)	122-112 W vs. BOS	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA (In-Season Tournament)

• 7:30 (TNT) | No. 4 Knicks (Quickley, Randle, Toppin) @ No. 1 Bucks
• 10:30 (TNT) | No. 4 Suns (Booker) @ No. 1 Lakers (Davis: probably, Vanderbilt: probable)