The New Orleans Pelicans (17 - 28) defeated the Sacramento Kings (20 - 26) 114 - 105 on Thursday night. New Orleans came into this game extremely shorthanded, but were still able to pull out an important win against a hot Kings team. The pace was incredible in this game, as the two teams combined for 187 shots. The Pelicans got off to a fast start and that really proved to be the difference, as they outscored the Kings 37 to 19 in the first quarter. Sacramento has been playing some of their best basketball of the season since the new year, but this does mark their third - straight loss. It wasn’t for the faults of DeMarcus Cousins or Rajon Rondo though, as they both had great games. Cousins finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five blocks, while Rondo tallied 17 points, 15 assists and six rebounds. Ben McLemore had one of his best games of the season as well, as he scored 26 points while hitting five three - pointers in the loss. Sacramento will look to bounce back on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies in their next game. New Orleans had to play this game without arguably their two best players, but this type of performance shows how talented their depth can be. Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans both sat out with different ailments, but players like Ryan Anderson and Norris Cole stepped up in their absences. Anderson was the star of the game, as he scored 36 points while snatching down nine boards. Cole played a lot of point guard tonight and accumulated 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in a great all - around performance. Jrue Holiday was no slouch either, as he amassed 25 points, five rebounds and eight assists off the bench. Up next for New Orleans is another winnable game against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
["PlayerStat(G,'DeMarcus Cousins') has 6 Assists ,has 5 Blocks ,has 1 3-pointers attempted ,has 26 3-pointers made ,has 10 Offensive rebounds ,has 1 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Ben McLemore') has 5 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 26 3-pointers attempted ,has 1 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Rajon Rondo') has 15 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 1 3-pointers attempted ,has 17 3-pointers made ,has 6 Offensive rebounds ,has 1 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Ryan Anderson') has 36 Assists ,has 9 Blocks ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Norris Cole') has 10 Assists ,has 17 Blocks ,has 7 3-pointers attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jrue Holiday') has 8 Assists ,has 25 Blocks ,has 5 3-pointers attempted ."]