The requisite playoff-like fire and focus simply wasn’t there from the moment the ball was released up into the air.
The New Orleans Pelicans dropped a game that they badly needed to put into the win column against the Sacramento Kings, losing 140-125.
Today’s defeat moves the Pelicans into a three-way tie for 11th in the Western Conference standings, 2.5 games behind the Grizzlies for 8th and 1.5 games behind the Trail Blazers for 9th. Only four more games remain on the schedule to make up that ground while also needing to jump over the rest of the playoff-hungry pack (Spurs, Kings, Suns) for a spot in the play-in tournament.