The last time the New Orleans Pelicans faced the Los Angeles Clippers, they walked away with a statement win powered by Zion Williamson’s second career triple-double. But that was three weeks ago — and the team that showed up in Inglewood on Wednesday night looked completely different.
With Williamson and CJ McCollum officially shut down for the season and Trey Murphy III out with a season-ending shoulder injury, New Orleans limped into the Clippers’ new Intuit Dome without three of their top four scorers. As expected, the depleted Pelicans couldn’t keep pace, falling 114-98.
Jose Alvarado led New Orleans with 17 points and 10 assists, his second double-double of the season and third of his career. Six Pelicans finished in double figures, including Bruce Brown (16 points), Kelly Olynyk (12), and rookies Antonio Reeves (11), Karlo Matkovic (10), and Jamal Cain (10). Yves Missi added a game-high 12 rebounds.
Despite the offensive balance, New Orleans was betrayed by its outside shooting. The Pelicans shot a miserable 4-of-22 from beyond the arc, tying their season-low for made threes. The Clippers, by contrast, drained 13-of-32 from long range and outscored New Orleans by 27 points from deep.
“You’ve got to get quality threes up,” said head coach Willie Green. “We have to do a better job finding those windows and taking care of the basketball.”
The Pelicans turned the ball over 15 times, exacerbating their shooting woes. Even a 32-point advantage in points in the paint couldn’t offset the miserable performance from distance.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 28 points, marking his 10th straight game with 20 or more. James Harden chipped in 21 points and 10 assists, while Ivica Zubac posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 off the bench, helping L.A. win for the 12th time in their last 15 games.
After trailing 22-16 at the end of the first quarter and 59-47 at the break, the Pelicans opened the second half with a quick 10-3 run to pull within five. But the Clippers quickly rebuilt the cushion, with Zubac and Norman Powell answering the run to restore a double-digit lead.
From there, the Clippers methodically put the game away, never letting the Pelicans get closer than seven points. Despite some solid effort from their younger players, there was too big a difference in talent and experience for the Pels to overcome.
Antonio Reeves continued his strong post-All-Star break play, shooting 5-of-10 from the field, even though he cooled off from three (1-of-4). Matkovic added five rebounds and two steals in his limited action. Keion Brooks Jr. added six points and a couple of highlight dunks.
The Pelicans have now lost 11 of their last 15 games and continue to drift toward the bottom of the standings with only a handful of games remaining.
New Orleans will stay in Los Angeles to face the revamped Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Friday. It’ll be the third and final meeting between the two teams this season.
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