The New Orleans Pelicans hadn’t played in front of their fans in 10 days.
It was worth the wait.
Trey Murphy scored 21 points, Jeremiah Fears had 20, and the Pelicans routed the Sacramento Kings 120-94 on Monday night in the Smoothie King Center. It was New Orleans’ largest margin of victory this season by four points and the fewest points it has allowed by one.
Zion Williamson added 18 points, and Karlo Matkovic and Saddiq Bey scored 12 each for the Pelicans (15-40), who handed a 13th consecutive defeat to the Kings (12-43), who haven’t won since Jan. 16. They are the only team in the Western Conference with a worse record than New Orleans.
The Pelicans will be back in the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday to face the Miami Heat in their final game before the All-Star break.
Russell Westbrook, who became the 14th player in NBA history to score 27,000 career points, finished with 17 for the Kings. Maxime Raynaud had 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Kings.
Sacramento played without five double-figure scorers because of health issues — Zach LaVine (19.2), Domantas Sabonis (15.8), Keegan Murray (14.6), De’Andre Hunter (13.7) and Malik Monk (12.4).
This was the first meeting of the season between the two teams, who will meet in Sacramento on March 11 and April 3.
Williamson scored the Pelicans’ first six points of the third quarter and Murphy made consecutive 3-pointers as New Orleans took its biggest lead at 73-52.
Sacramento edged to within 15 points, but the Pelicans scored the next nine points as Bryce McGowens’ 3-pointer and Matkovic’s dunk gave them an 84-60 lead.
New Orleans extended the lead to as many as 30 points before holding a 92-67 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Pelicans had a season-high 34 fastbreak points, surpassing their previous high by five.
DeMar DeRozan scored six points and Westbrook had five as Sacramento took a 20-15 lead. Fears and Williamson scored four points each as New Orleans rode a 16-6 run to build a 31-26 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Pelicans kept rolling at the start of the second quarter as Matkovic had five points, six teammates scored, and the biggest lead of the half came at 52-35. The Kings crept within nine points, but a field goal by Derik Queen and 3-pointer by Murphy started a push that left New Orleans with a 61-46 halftime lead.