National Basketball Association
New Orleans 116, L.A. Clippers 106
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, November 24, 2023
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
#52 Scott Twardoski, #48 Scott Foster, #65 Nate Green
Attendance:
19370
By Field Level Media
Zion Williamson scored 32 points and Brandon Ingram added 30 as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans earned a 116-106 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday to finish group play of the NBA in-season tournament with a 3-1 record.
Herbert Jones scored 14 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 for the Pelicans, who have won three straight and five of their last six games.
New Orleans must wait for a final group-stage game between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets on Tuesday to see if they win the West Group B and advance to the knockout round of the inaugural tournament.
Paul George scored 34 points and Kawhi Leonard added 20 for the Clippers, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. Norman Powell also had 20 points off the bench for Los Angeles, which was eliminated from the in-season tournament with a 1-3 record in group play.
Acting as more of a facilitator, James Harden had 10 assists for the Clippers but just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting. Los Angeles is 3-6 since Harden was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 1.
Jones scored eight points of a 10-0 Pelicans run approaching the midway point of the fourth quarter to give New Orleans a 103-91 advantage.
The Pelicans were up 107-94 before the Clippers made one final run, pulling within 110-106 with 54 seconds remaining after a Powell layup. But New Orleans sealed the victory when Williamson missed inside before pulling the offensive rebound away from Harden and scoring for a 112-106 lead with 34.1 seconds on the clock.
The Pelicans got off to an impressive start, taking their first double-digit lead with 6:07 remaining in the first quarter and taking a 33-12 lead with 2:14 left in the opening period.
The Clippers went to work from there, after an 0-for-7 start from 3-point range, trailing 36-23 after one quarter before inching within 56-55 at halftime. The Clippers opened their first lead at 57-56 early in the third quarter before the Pelicans were up 85-83 heading into the fourth.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
New Orleans |
|
L.A. Clippers |
Zion Williamson 32 |
Scoring |
Paul George 34 |
Dyson Daniels 5 |
Assists |
James Harden 10 |
Dyson Daniels 8 |
Rebounds |
Paul George 8 |
Zion Williamson 6 |
Free Throws Made |
James Harden 3 |
Zion Williamson 2 |
Steals |
James Harden 4 |
Larry Nance Jr. 3 |
Blocks |
Daniel Theis 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
New Orleans
|
116 |
48.9 |
10-24 |
20-27 |
26 |
50 |
5 |
6 |
15 |
L.A. Clippers
|
106 |
45.7 |
11-37 |
11-17 |
27 |
39 |
8 |
11 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
L.A. Clippers will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Clippers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .375 after a loss.
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New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .429 after a loss.