They left no doubt.
The New Orleans Pelicans controlled play most of the way in a convincing 120-94 victory at home Monday night over the Sacramento Kings at Smoothie King Center for their second straight win.
The loss was the 13th straight loss for the Kings, a franchise record.
Playing without several key players, Sacramento took an early 20-15 lead before the Pelicans outscored the Kings 16-6 the rest of the quarter to take a 31-26 lead.
New Orleans would not trail again.
The Pelicans shot it well all night, finishing at 54 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.
New Orleans won despite being outrebounded 50-39.
Trey Murphy III led a balanced attack with 21 points and seven assists in 29 minutes.
Jeremiah Fears had one of his better games, scoring 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field.
Zion Williamson had 18 points in 27 minutes while Karlo Matkovic had 12 points and nine rebounds. Saddiq Bey also had 20 points.
Maxime Reynaud led Sacramento with 21 points. The Kings were awful from 3-point range, making just 4 of 31 attempts (13%).
The Pelicans (15-50) play their final game before the All-Star break Wednesday night at home against Miami.