Kings takeaways: What you might have missed from 140-125 win vs. Pelicans

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Back on the board. 

After dropping their first three games of the NBA’s restart in Orlando, the Kings looked like an offensive juggernaut Thursday morning against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Led by a career game by Bogdan Bogdanovic, and another tremendous performance from De’Aaron Fox, the Kings survived a big game from rookie Zion Williamson to come away with a much needed 140-125 victory.

Here are three takeaways as the Kings pick up their first win of the Orlando bubble to improve to 29-39 on the season.

First-quarter fire

A clearly frustrated Kings team came out and made a statement in the first 12 minutes against the Pelicans. Led by Bogdanovic’s 19 points, the Kings dropped a Sacramento-era record for points in a quarter with 49.

The Kings shot 78.3 percent from the field, including 8-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. On the downside, they allowed New Orleans to hit 70.8 percent to take just a 10-point lead into the second quarter.

Serbian Sniper

Bogdanovic couldn’t buy a bucket in the Kings’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. He missed his first 14 shots and finished with just three points on 1-of-15 shooting.

Clearly upset with his performance, Bogdanovic came out firing against the Pelicans. He lit New Orleans up with a perfect 7-of-7 shooting in the first quarter before missing a 50-footer at the buzzer.

Bogdanovic blew past his career-high 31 points, finishing the game with 35 on 13-for-20 shooting from the field and six makes from long range. His starting backcourt mate, Fox, had a strong game as well, finishing with a 30-point, 10-assist double-double.

Welcome back Mr. Barnes

Like Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes hasn’t been his best self in the bubble. A late arrival to Orlando after testing positive for coronavirus, Barnes looked just a step slow in the first three games.

Knowing his team needed him to play well against Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Barnes rose to the occasion. He finished the game with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting and chipped in six rebounds and two assists.

Ingram is a big time scorer. He still managed to post 24 points against Barnes and the Kings, but in a game where 265 points were scored, that isn’t that large of a number.

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