LA Clippers Dominate Against the New Orleans Pelicans, 134-109

The LA Clippers easily routed the New Orleans Pelicans, 134-109. Hosts were led by a fantastic Montrezl Harrell, who played his best game of the season so far, helping his team post its 12th win in this campaign.The 25-year old center was unstoppable for the Pelicans, pouring 34 points and grabbing 12 boards. Harrell shot superbly from the field, 13 for 18, and was harassing the young guests throughout the entire game. By the way, he played just 28 minutes.

But he didn’t have to be on the court more than that. The Clippers got hold of a lead early on, after an 8-0 series which pulled them away to 21-14 midway through the first. After that, there was no looking back for the home team, whose advantage only grew bigger. They would finish the first period with 40 scored buckets, following a huge push made by Harrell and Lou Williams.

“It’s nice to know you got Lou and Trezz and the other guys with them, they’re going to come in & get the energy back up,” said Doc Rivers at the press.

TWO TAPS ✊🏾😎✊🏾

📺 @FoxSportsWest | @MONSTATREZZ pic.twitter.com/l0b1RetD8b

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 25, 2019

Another massive run of the Clippers marked the second period. They scored 17 points, allowing only two, early into the sequence, to reach a 62-37 lead. But as time went by, they became sloppy, and the guests responded with a 16-5 surge which brought them down to 77-70.

Then again, Harrell’s 10 points in a 12-2 burst of the home team, led them again to a safe distance, and pretty much closed the contest. At the end of the third, the result was 100-87. Just in case, the Clippers would start the final part of the event pretty furiously, with a 14-4 run, and knockout the guests.

Besides Harrell, Kawhi Leonard had 26 points, and 6 assists, missing two ow his 12 free throws. Williams had 19 buckets, while Paul George made 6 three-pointers, for all of his 18 points.

The Clippers had 56 rebounds, compared to Pelicans’ 45, and that was one of the biggest advantages they had in this meeting. Apart from that, the Pelicans were defending 2-on-2 pretty bad, and Harrell exploited that in the best possible way.

However, what really made the difference were the Clippers’ bench 72 points. It was mostly because of Harrell and Williams, which is something usual.

“Just a rhythm,” said Harrell about the performance of the guys who came off the bench. “We’ve been around each other so much. Even at practice we are on the same team, so just being able to continue, just being on that chemistry we already have.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dJ1iPHPkWM

Among the young team from Louisiana, Brandon Ingram led the way with 24 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists. The 22-year old forward has been excellent this season, averaging 26.3 points and 7.1 boards, and is slowly starting to look like an All-Star caliber player. Jrue Holiday added 18 and 7 dimes, E’Twaun Moore scored 17 off the bench.

The Clippers (12-5) finished their homestand with a 5-0 record, and will now head on a three-game tour through the mid-West. They are playing the first game in Dallas, against the fired-up Doncic and the Mavs. After that, Leonard and the crew travel to Memphis, before landing to his old neighborhood, San Antonio.

On the other hand, the Pelicans (6-11) finished their three-game road trip, during which they posted one win and two losses. Their next opponents are the Los Angeles Lakers this Wednesday.