The Clippers remain hot after beating the Pelicans 114-98
Los Angeles Clippers #2 Kawhi Leonard (F) is going up for a reverse layup. against the New Orleans Pelicans. Photo by Deangelo Scruggs/TGSportstv1 April 2, 2025.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Clippers took care of business at home to remain in contention for the #6 seed and avoid the Play-in Tournament as they beat the New Orleans Pelicans 114-98.
The Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies all hold identical 44-32 records, trailing the Golden State Warriors by a half-game in the standings. Currently, the Clippers are projected to be a play-in seed.
Guard James Harden acknowledged the team's awareness of the standings, stating, "Everybody is paying attention to the standings. But I think we control our own destiny, you know what I mean? So, we just want to be playing well, no matter who we're playing against. Obviously, it's going to work out how it's going to work out. But for us it's just playing well and controlling what we can control."
Los Angeles showcased a balanced offensive performance, with six players reaching double figures. Kawhi Leonard, had a big night, 28 points, and Harden, he chipped in with 21 and 10 assists. Zubac, he had a double-double, 17 and 10, and Bogdanovic, he put up 16.
For the Pelicans, Jose Alvarado contributed 17 points and 10 assists, while Bruce Bowen added 16 points, and Yves Missi grabbed 12 rebounds.
New Orleans Pelicans #00 Bruce Brown (SF) is slashing to the basket for a driving layup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Photo by Deangelo Scruggs/TGSportstv1 April 2, 2025.
Bruce Brown would give the Pelicans a 4-0 lead with a driving layup to start the game before Kawhi Leonard's three-pointer would tie the game 8-8. James Harden's layup gave them a 12-10 lead before the Clippers went on a 10-6 run to end the first quarter leading 22-16.
Leonard caught fire in the second quarter scoring 13 of his 18 points and the Clippers shot 55% (22 of 40 field goals) from the field and 33% (5 of 15) from three-point distance in the first half as they took a 59-47 lead into halftime.
New Orleans shot 44% (20 of 45) from the field but struggled from behind the arc shooting 20% after only making 2 out of 10 attempts in the half.
Kris Dunn opened up the third quarter with two back-back three-pointers to give the Clippers a 65-57 lead, but the scrappy Pelicans cut the deficit to single digits 67-61 with a driving layup by Jose Alvarado before trailing 83-72 at the end of the quarter.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Los Angeles in the second half scoring 12 of his 16 points. His 9 points in the fourth period helped the Clippers pull away and stretch their lead to 20 points, 110-90, their largest lead of the night.
With 50% field goal shooting (18/36) and 47% three-point shooting (8/17), Los Angeles outscored New Orleans by 27 points from beyond the arc.
Despite the Pelicans being short-handed, Harden knew the challenges of playing at home after a long road trip stating, "No matter who you play coming from a long road trip you know for over a week uh so no matter who we played it was going to be a tough game we knew that so I think just the whole thing was just trying to get the win."
Clippers now prepare to host the hungry Dallas Mavericks in the first of back-to-back games with them as the Mavericks are fighting to stay in the 10th seed to make the Play-In Tournament, while the Clippers are trying to avoid it.