Pelicans are playoff bound after knocking off the Kings

The New Orleans Pelicans were without Zion Williamson on Friday night in a do or die play-in game against the Sacramento Kings. No Zion, no problem. The Pelicans found a way to get it done at home as they won 105-98. Now, the Pelicans are moving onto the playoffs, and they will be taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“We deserve it,” Larry Nance Jr. said in regards to getting into the playoffs, according to an article from NBA.com. “That’s how we felt coming into this game and that’s how we felt going into the last game. You don’t win 49 games by accident, that doesn’t happen. You don’t just slip and do that in a historic conference. We’re a really good team and we deserve to be here. We showed that tonight and we’re proud to be going to Oklahoma.”

One player that stepped up in a big way for the Pelicans on Friday without Zion Williamson out was Brandon Ingram. Ingram led the team with 24 points and head coach Willie Green liked what he saw from him.

“BI (Brandon Ingram) was big-time for us, and he had that look in his eyes from the time that he got to the gym after the loss to the Lakers,” Willie Green said. “His ability to put the team on his shoulders – this was the moment that he wanted. He wanted a moment that he could step up in and help the team win a big-time game. Especially after a couple games that he didn’t play up to par, but, huge effort on his part.”

The Pelicans and Thunder will start their series on Sunday.

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