Clippers Streak To 9, Beat Pelicans In OT

By Connor Aylward
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Updated: January 10, 2016

The Clippers put their eight game winning streak on the line Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center. Still without Blake Griffin, Los Angeles took on a Pelicans team that did not include Anthony Davis. This was a back and forth affair between the two teams and New Orleans never let the Clippers get comfortable in the 114-111 Overtime win for Los Angeles, pushing their winning streak to 9.

The First Quarter proved to be difficult defensively for the Clippers as Ryan Anderson would knock down his go-to three-point shot three times and lead all scorers with 9 points heading into the second. Chris Paul started off what would end up being a great showing for the Superstar point guard with a 7 point first quarter. J.J. Redick looked cold to start off the contest, which is rare for the usually quick-starting Redick. The Pelicans ended the quarter leading, 24-19.

The poor shooting that plagued Los Angeles to end the first would carry through to the second quarter as the team carried on a streak of nine consecutive missed shots that would put them down by eleven at one point. However, New Orleans could never expand on that lead as the Clipper bench heated up and players like Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers and Pablo Prigioni helped the club knot the game up at 33 with eight minutes to go in the half. As the starters for Los Angeles worked their way into the game the cold shooting for the Pelicans continued as the Clippers found their stride and would end up growing the lead to 56-49 by the end of the half. Chris Paul had a great first half, finishing with 16 points and 6 assists. Meanwhile Crawford would shoot in 10 points off of the bench. Los Angeles shot 50% from the field and 42% from three.

The second half would start with the Pelicans finding their shooting stroke to cut the Clippers once eight point lead down to two. Los Angeles was able to hold them off however and regain a comfortable lead by knocking in the mid to long-range shots that looked routine for the club this afternoon. Luc Mbah a Moute would eclipse his season high scoring total through just three-quarters with 12 points as the Clippers led the Pelicans 84-76.

Crawford kept his hot hand alive and helped the Clippers gain momentum early on in the fourth with his NBA record-holding stat 46th four point play. New Orleans though would battle back as they had been doing all afternoon and did not allow Los Angeles to remain comfortable. Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans would be a big reason why this was the case as the two really got things going late to help propel their club to only a two point deficit with just over a minute to go in the contest. After a questionable foul on Austin Rivers with under 2 seconds left that allowed Jrue Holiday to shoot three free throws, New Orleans tied the game up at 101. After a missed game-winning tip-in attempt by DeAndre Jordan this game headed into Overtime!

The Clippers ended regulation 0-9 from field in the final five minutes of play. That streak ended quickly in Overtime as Jordan knocked in the first points of the extra quarter but would miss the free throw for a three-point play. The lead bounced back and forth like a game of ping-pong in the Overtime period as no lead seemed safe. Until Chris Paul drained in a clutch three ball as the shot clock expired with just 1:15 to go giving his club the 111-106 lead, the largest lead either side would have in the Overtime period. Los Angeles would be able to hold off New Orleans the rest of the way in this one despite the creative fouling efforts of the Pelicans on DeAndre Jordan.

Chris Paul ended the game with 25 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds in a stellar performance. DeAndre Jordan would have 12 points with 11 rebounds and Jamal Crawford would drop in a much-needed 21 points off the bench.

A good win for the Clippers who will look to continue their winning streak against Miami Wednesday night on ESPN at 7:30 PST.

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