Herb Jones goes from 17 minutes off the bench to plus-27 in his first start as the Pelicans get their first win: ‘He’s just a winner’

Herb Jones had come off the bench in each of the New Orleans Pelicans’ first four games, playing between 16 and 19 minutes a night, and all four ended in losses. On Thursday, with Dejounte Murray away for personal reasons and Jordan Poole out with a sprained ankle, Jamahl Mosley put Jones in the starting lineup for the first time this season. He played 32 minutes, scored 16 points and finished plus-27, the best mark on either team, as the Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 132-120 for their first win of the season and Mosley’s first as their coach.

“There’s no other way to put it, he’s just a winner,” Mosley said afterward. “He finds ways to do the things that are necessary for you to win games. And that’s why I said before, it’s a priority to get him on the floor.”

Coach on Herb Jones' performance tonight pic.twitter.com/QkHzWzJp9H

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 30, 2026

Mosley admitted he had not seen a number that big coming. “Did I know he’s going to come up with a plus-27? No,” he said. “Who he is and what he represents as a human being, as a basketball player and as a professional, he checks all those boxes.”

Two changes, a different start

Mosley made two changes to the lineup that had started Tuesday’s 104-91 home loss to Denver. Jones replaced Murray, and Karlo Matkovic started at center in place of DeAndre Jordan, who did not play. Jeremiah Fears, Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III stayed in the group. Matkovic had 12 points and three steals in 28 minutes, and Mosley said he did “a really good job of keeping us in coverages, being up at the level,” and said that when Matkovic is on the floor, “it opens up the floor for these other guys so much.”

Asked whether that starting five deserves another look once Murray and Poole return, Mosley did not commit. “This is the beauty of this team, the depth, the ability to do it by committee,” he said. “Whoever we throw on this floor, there’s a standard style of play that we’re going to have.”

Jones’ early role had been one of the questions around a team that lost its first four games by a combined 23 points, including one-point and three-point defeats. Before Thursday, he had averaged 17.5 minutes and 3.5 points. He was named to the All-Defensive first team in 2023-24 and has been one of the league’s most respected wing defenders since arriving as a second-round pick in 2021.

Steals ‘because we’re in position’

The defense Mosley has been asking for showed up in the box score. New Orleans had 18 steals, its most in a game since it had 21 at Indiana on Jan. 8, 2016, the team said. Sacramento committed 25 turnovers, and the Pelicans scored 40 points off them. Williamson had five steals, Matkovic and Trendon Watford three each.

Mosley said the steals were a product of the scheme, not risk-taking. “We laugh with our defensive coordinator all the time,” he said. “We’re getting the steals because we’re in position. We’re not getting it because we’re gambling. And that’s the best part about it. The system is providing them the opportunity to do the things that they need to do, because they know where everyone is on the floor.”

"We're getting the steals because we're in position. We're not getting it because we're gambling and that's the best part about it. The system is providing them the opportunity to do the things that they need to do"

— Jamahl Mosley on the team defense pic.twitter.com/BUGfMBQn6O

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) October 30, 2026

He was just as pleased with the other end. New Orleans had 32 assists on 50 baskets and seven players in double figures. “I’m more proud of the fact that we have 32 assists. We shared it, we moved it, we trusted it,” Mosley said. “It’s going to be by committee. I’ll say it over and over again.”

Fears’ breakout and a late-game wrinkle

Fears, the second-year point guard, had 22 points, a career-high 13 assists, 8 rebounds and a career-high four blocks. “The kid works so hard,” Mosley said. “He has a level of confidence and belief in what he does, and we have a level of belief in him of what he’s capable of doing, and we saw a lot of that tonight.” Mosley also praised Fears’ defense, noting that he has guarded both guards and bigs on switches, and said he has “a competitive spirit like not many that I’ve seen.”

Mosley did acknowledge that the late-game offense still got sticky after the Kings put De’Andre Hunter on Fears and began trapping him. Sacramento cut a 19-point lead to 113-106 with 7:11 left before New Orleans answered with 10 straight points. “Not being in a rush,” Mosley said of the fix. “As we started to settle down that last timeout, being able to help them understand exactly what we wanted to do … after that last turnover, we cleaned it up pretty good.” Our full recap of the game has how the third-quarter run broke it open.

What’s next

The Pelicans, now 1-4, host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, October 31, at 7 p.m. ET (1 a.m. Sunday, Cairo time), then visit the unbeaten Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, November 2. Whether Jones keeps his starting spot when Murray and Poole are available is the lineup question Mosley left open.