Sacramento Kings vs New Orleans Pelicans Match Player Stats On Dec 08, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 8, 2017

NEW ORLEANS -- Zach Randolph scored 35 points, including a back-to-back 3-pointers to open overtime, to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 116-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center.

The Kings (8-17) trailed 100-91 with 3:31 left in regulation, but they ran off eight consecutive points to close within 100-99 with 1:06 left. Buddy Hield made a 3-pointer and a layup in that stretch.

A dunk by DeMarcus Cousins with 49.5 seconds left put New Orleans up 102-99, but Hield, who scored 18 points, tied the game with a 3-pointer from the right wing with 34.8 seconds remaining.

Jrue Holiday missed in the lane for New Orleans, and Randolph missed a baseline jumper on the final two possessions, sending it to overtime.

Randolph opened overtime with the consecutive 3-pointers to give Sacramento a 108-105 lead, and the Pelicans never got closer than that.

New Orleans (13-13) got 38 points from Cousins but it was not enough. Cousins became only the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in his first three games against his former team, joining Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Pelicans also got 18 points from Anthony Davis, who returned after being sidelined for three games with a groin injury.

The Pelicans led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, but Sacramento used a 16-6 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Randolph, to tie the game at 77 late in the period. But New Orleans closed with a 5-0 run to lead 82-77 to start the final quarter.

NOTES: The Pelicans gave PG Rajon Rondo the night off for rest. In Rondo's 11 games as a starter, SG Jrue Holiday averaged 20 points per game. ... Pelicans PF Anthony Davis returned after missing three games with a strained left adductor (groin). The Pelicans were 2-1 without Davis, with DeMarcus Cousins taking over the scoring spotlight. "Both of those guys have done that; they're great players and they're used to carrying their teams," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. "DeMarcus has been really good. The rebounding part has been great. The ways he's facilitated and gotten other guys involved in the game is also very important." ... Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said he tries to use a 10- or 11-man rotation to better develop his young players. "I came into the season, and whether I declared it or not, in our situation (it's best) to try develop a lot of people," Joerger said. "I'm committed to playing a lot of guys."