Kings give up a franchise high to the Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS — The Sacramento Kings’ plan to play at a high pace is showing on the scoreboard in the early going.

Sacramento is averaging 123 points and has shot better than 50 percent in both regular-season games. However, their opponents are also scoring at a high level while shooting with accuracy.

The New Orleans Pelicans did both in a big way Friday, handing the Kings a 149-129 loss at Smoothie King Center. The hosts’ scoring total was a franchise record.

Despite the opponents’ big night, coach Dave Joerger wasn’t discouraged.

“We have things to work on certainly, but I like what I see,” he said. “I saw some really good things offensively tonight. I see a lot of things defensively that can be learned through experience. It just takes time as younger guys learn how to play against older guys.

“I am not fired up about giving up 149, but I do like what I see from a lot of our guys.”

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said the team’s offense isn’t an issue and the high number of points being scored against them is a result of faster play, which has also led to a lot of fouls. Sacramento was whistled 26 times Friday, just one more than New Orleans.

“With pushing the pace, that means both teams are going to get more possessions,” Fox said. “Right now, we are getting a lot of fouls and putting the team on the free-throw line a lot. That’s definitely affecting our defense.”

The speed of the game also suits what the Pelicans want to do, coach Alvin Gentry said.

“I think we’ve got to lock in a little more defensively, but I want us to play at that pace,” he said. “More so than anything, I think we did a good job of finding the hot hand. When (Nikola Mirotic) got going, we ran a lot of good stuff with him.”

Mirotic benefited from the offense looking to him. The center scored a career-high 36 points and made five 3-pointers. One of those came later in the game on a well-defended stepback in the corner.