BJ Mathews is the host of the THE PULL UP! Basketball Podcast. He is a Clippers credentialed creator representing thePeachBasket. In this article, Kawhi Leonard leads the Clippers against the shorthanded Pelicans, he recaps the Clippers recent win against a shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans team.
Kawhi Leonard scored a game high 28 points and James Harden notched 21 points and 10 assists. In the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Clippers were able to put away the pesky New Orleans Pelicans 114-98. This gives the Clippers their first win back home, and they are now tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
Ivica Zubac and Kris Dunn both tallied up 13 points a piece for the Clippers.
Jose Alvarado led the shorthanded Pelicans with 17 points with 10 assists. Bruce Brown added 14 points and Kelly Olynk added 12 points.
This is the Clippers first home game back from their four game East coast road trip. LA Clippers Forward Kawhi Leonard spoke on the fatigue of the road trip: “They could be tough, even the second one coming up. After being on the road, it’s basically a 10 o’clock game on the east coast, kind of getting adjusted to the time. But yeah, you gotta be big boys and come out and play.”
Shorthanded Pelicans v Clippers Takeaways
Pelicans: The Pelicans have been on the tail end of unfortunate injuries with Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, Brandon Boston Jr, and CJ Mccollum, but there’s a lot of promise with this team going into next season. “We get through the summer first and get healthy, workout together, train, and check in on guys, “says Pelicans Guard C.J. McCollum.
Clippers: The Clippers are making a push towards the postseason with six games left in the regular season. Four of the six games will be at home where they’ve had a lot of success at the Intuit Dome this season at 25-11. That home court advantage is real when it comes to the Clippers.
Key Stat
The Clippers for the first time in five seasons have won the head to head season matchup against the Pelicans 2-1.
Up next
The Pelicans will finish their LA trip against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night before returning back home for a game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Clippers have a back to back to back against the Dallas Mavericks that could be crucial determining their seeding for the play-in and playoffs.
