A day after putting up a tough fight against the Western Conference leading Golden State Warriors, the LA Clippers (11-10) came out sluggish and uninspired in a 123-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans (6-17).
Summary
If there ever was a good example of a trap game on the Clippers schedule, it was this one. A back-to-back on a Monday night, a day after playing against the Warriors and the Pelicans having one of the worst records in the NBA.
And the Clippers certainly delivered in that regard. The energy was lacking from the get-go and they found themselves trailing 29-14 with just over three minutes to go in the first quarter.
For a team that has consistently been on the top defensive teams in the NBA, they didn’t show much of that as the Pelicans shot 56 percent in the first quarter and Jonas Valanciunas was 3-3 from three-point range.
The second quarter was even worse for the Clippers as they had absolutely no answer for Valanciunas. He ended the half with 29 points and 7-7 shooting from distance while the Pelicans built up a 67-52 lead.
This Clippers team has made a habit of getting down big and pulling off comeback wins, or at least getting close to it, and in the second half it looked like they might do it again. A late spurt from the Clippers in the third quarter saw the Pelicans lead cut to single digits, 87-78, until a three-pointer at the buzzer from Garrett Temple pushed the lead to 90-78.
In the fourth quarter, Paul George drove to the rim and finished the play through contact, but was called for an offensive foul. Tyronn Lue immediately challenged the call and was successful. George went to the line and completed the three-point play which brought the Clippers to within 95-87 with just over seven minutes to go.
The Clippers could get no further than eight points, however, and Brandon Ingram helped carry the Pelicans across the finish line.
Notes
- In what could be considered a positive in a game that didn’t have much of that, Serge Ibaka continued to look a little bit like his old self. He had 13 points and shot 3-4 from three-point range. He continues to be the first center off the bench over Isaiah Hartenstein and the two big men had another stint in the lineup together.
- Earlier in the day, Brandon Boston Jr. had 46 points with the Agua Caliente Clippers in the G League. Boston hasn’t played much at all with the Clippers and he got into garbage time minutes against the Pelicans. Obviously the NBA game is on a different level than the G League, but for a Clippers team that has struggled to generate consistent offense this season, including this game, giving Boston some minutes with the second unit might not be a bad thing.
- These early home games against teams under .500 are games the Clippers need to have. The schedule only gets harder as the season goes on and they need to take advantage of this early home schedule. The Sacramento Kings come into Staples Center on Wednesday night and it’s a game the Clippers cannot afford to drop.