Kings Rookie Scores 34, But Not Enough For First Win

Two teams enter the court without a win. Only one walks away happy. 

The Sacramento Kings fell to 0-5 to start the season after falling to the New Orleans Pelicans 132-120 on Thursday night in New Orleans. Turnovers doomed the Kings, as they lost the ball 25 times for the first time since 2023. 

Darius Acuff Jr. scored a career high 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting to go along with 14 assists for the Kings. Acuff also shot an inefficient 3-of-11 from the three-point line and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. 

Domantas Sabonis grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, dished out seven assists, and was a single point away from a double-double. He entered the game leading the NBA in rebounding at 16.5 per game.

Zach LaVine scored 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting and 3-of-10 from downtown. De’Andre Hunter and Precious Achiuwa each scored 24 points for the Kings. Hunter led the Kings in three-point shooting with a 4-of-8 clip from behind the arc.

Achiuwa shot 12-of-15 from mid-range and was a rebound away from a double-double. The eight-year veteran from Memphis averaged a career high 10.1 points per game in his first season with Sacramento last year and is currently putting up 14 points per game so far this season.

The Sacramento starting five scored 112 of their 120 points. Their lack of depth was an issue as the Pelicans bench outscored them 41-8 in their first win of the year under new coach Jamahl Mosley. 

As a team, the Kings made 12-of-37 shots from long range. The Pelicans made four more field goals than the Kings despite two less three-pointers. New Orleans made 22 free throws while Sacramento only attempted 20.  

Jeremiah Fears led the Pelicans with 22 points and a career-high 13 assists with eight rebounds, two shy of a triple-double. Zion Williamson scored 22 points on an efficient 10-of-12 from the floor. 

Trey Murphy III scored 19 points, Herbert Jones added 16 points and Karlo Matkovic chipped in 12 points to round out the scoring from the starting five. Saddiq Bey and Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to score 10 points a piece. 

The Kings led the Pelicans 30-24 at the end of the first quarter. New Orleans rallied back to take a 55-54 lead on a pair of free throws from Murphy with 1:45 left in the second quarter. The Pelicans took a 63-61 lead into halftime and never trailed again. 

The Pelicans blew the game open with a 16-2 run in the middle of the third quarter, highlighted by six points from Williamson and five from Murphy. A 39-27 third quarter had the Kings trailing the Pelicans 102-88 entering the fourth quarter. 

The Kings outscored the Pelicans 32-30 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t gain any ground. 

The Kings’ search for their first win continues as they travel to Memphis on Saturday while the Pelicans will remain home to host Atlanta on Saturday.