On April 12, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Pelicans challenged the Kings away, which was a sixth-place card battle in the West. The Pelicans came up with a 18-0 offensive run to build a 23-point lead, but the Kings immediately launched a counterattack, a wave of 15-0 to narrow the difference. After that, the Pelicans were still able to take the initiative, and the Kings were never able to overtake the score, and the Pelicans opened up the gap again in the final quarter, and finally defeated the Kings 135-123 to continue to occupy sixth place in the West.
It was a crucial game for both sides, but the Pelicans came up with the better momentum, winning 9-0 in the opening game, and then blasting out an 18-0 offensive wave to take a 34-11 lead. Fortunately, Fox began to explode, scoring consecutive points in response to a wave of 15-0 offensive and successfully narrowing the difference, and then the Kings kept biting the score and did not let the Pelicans pull the gap away again. Both teams are very hot on the outside, and they start a direct match, the Pelicans can still take the initiative, Zion also returned to the locker room for a while, but fortunately, there is no big problem, and after halftime, the Pelicans lead the Kings 64-58.
In the second half, the two teams were inseparable, and the Kings closed the gap several times, but they were always unable to achieve a comeback, and the Pelicans always maintained the lead and were always able to respond. But in the final stage, the Pelicans hit a series of outside shots and successfully opened the difference, McCollum continued to hit three points in the final quarter, Fox was stealed, Murphy counterattacked with an empty dunk, and the Pelicans established a 14-point lead. The Kings then rallied back, but it was too late and ultimately lost the game 123-135.
This game also made the Western Conference landscape clear, and there was only one suspense left in the top six, that is, the Pelicans and Suns fighting for the last direct qualification spot. The other three teams are in a white heat, with all three teams tied at 45 wins and 35 losses, and the Kings still sit in eighth place in the West by virtue of their division record. The Warriors, on the other hand, wanted to cry without tears, fought for so long, and finally couldn't occupy an active position, but only surpassed the Lakers in ninth place, and if they want to enter the top eight, they can only expect the king to make a mistake.
And the life and death of the Suns are likely to be in the hands of the Lakers, and the Lakers will face the Pelicans in the final round, and only if the Lakers beat the Pelicans, the Suns will have a chance to rush to the sixth position. At present, the Suns are one win behind the Pelicans, but fortunately, they have the upper hand in the two sides, and as long as they have the same record, they will complete the overtake. The last two games of the NBA are 15 games a day, which is very intense, and there is no possibility of doing anything, only to go all out.