The New Orleans Pelicans (32-42) showed a lack of effort and poor execution in Monday night's 102-97 loss to the Sacramento Kings (26-48).

First and foremost, the Pelicans had no answers for Sacramento Center DeMarcus Cousins. Anytime he caught a pass in the paint, he used his size and strength to edge his way closer to the basket. Once there, he finished more often than not, completing a number of impressive up and under plays. For the night, Cousins scored a game-high 35 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

"A number of times we had double-teams down there and he (Cousins) just bulled through the double team and got to the basket," New Orleans coach Monty Williams Williams said. "We just did not have a great level of sustained effort."

Outside of Anthony Morrow who finished with 23 points off the bench, no Pelican had a performance they'd want on a resume tape. Anthony Davis was solid, finishing with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He stuffed the stat sheet, but never took over. That honor belonged to Cousins, who helped Sacramento crush the Pelicans on the boards.

The Kings outrebounded the Pels 47-30.

"We bludgeoned them on the glass," Sacramento coach Mike Malone said. "It's a very good win for us on the road against a team that's playing well."

Despite a lack of effort on the glass and poor offensive execution for long stretches, New Orleans stayed in the game until the final buzzer thanks to Morrow's hot shooting.

After a season long 5 game winning streak, the Pelicans have now lost two in a row. Now they hit the road for a three-game road trip. First up, a Wednesday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Tip-off is set for 8:00.

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