Kings beat Pelicans 121-103 to clinch Pacific Division title

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 23points, rookie Keegan Murray added 21 and the Sacramento Kings beatthe New Orleans Pelicans 121-103 on Tuesday night to clinch thePacific Division title.

Domantas Sabonis had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists forthe Kings, who took the lead for good late in the first quarter andled by as many as 24 points in the second half.

Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and Trey Murphy III had 17 forthe Pelicans (40-39), who entered the game knowing they couldguarantee themselves sixth place in the Western Conference if theywon their final four games.

Now New Orleans is more likely destined for a play-in spot thatgoes to teams finishing seventh through 10th. But they have yet toclinch even that, needing one more victory or a loss by Dallas,which plays Wednesday, and Utah, which played against the LosAngeles Lakers later Tuesday night.

Malik Monk scored 17 and Harrison Barnes 16 points for the Kings(48-31), who remained 1 1/2 games behind Memphis (49-29) for thesecond seed in the West.

Murry, drafted fourth overall out of Iowa last summer, madeseven of 10 3-point attempts. He hit five during the third quarter,when the Kings opened up a 17-point lead. It was his third straightgame with 18 or more points.

Fox hit 10 of 23 shots and also had nine assists.

TIP-INS

Kings: Sabonis has 13 triple-doubles this season. ... Murray hasscored 20 or more points in 13 games this season. ... Kevin Huerterscored 11 points. ... Shot 50.5% (46 of 91), including 17 of 42(40.5%) from 3-point range. .... Outrebounded New Orleans43-37.

Pelicans: Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 points, CJ McCollum androokie Dyson Daniels each scored 12 points and Herbert Jones scored11. ... Still need two more victories in their last three games tofinish with a winning regular season record for the first timesince 2017-18, when they went 48-34.

UP NEXT

Kings: At Dallas on Wednesday.

Pelicans: Host Memphis on Wednesday.