A strong fourth quarter from Kawhi Leonard and Lou Williams proved to be enough for the Clippers to earn a 133-130 win over the Pelicans.
The Good: Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard is really good at basketball. Who knew! He was unguardable for long stretches of the game, finishing with 39 points, six assists, six rebounds and five steals. It’s the first time this season a player has finished with at least 39-5-5-5. Sometimes, you just have to tip your hat to a better player.
Honorable mentions: Lou Williams, Derrick Favors
The Bad: Turnovers
The Pelicans have had the problem over and over and over again this season. On Saturday, they finished with 21 turnovers and allowed the Clippers to score 24 points off those. It has been an Achilles heel and continues to be so.
For a team needing to string together wins against playoff teams to keep their own playoff hopes alive, it’s a situation that must be fixed moving forward.
Honorable mentions: JJ Redick’s game-tying attempt, the refs
The Ball: A non-retroactive triple-double
For the first time in a while, Lonzo Ball finished with a triple-double on game day. Ball was huge in the first quarter, scoring 10 points and getting the Pelicans off to a strong start. Not surprisingly, his scoring cooled off as the game progressed but he still finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Late in the game, he also came up with some big defensive stops on Kawhi Leonard after being switched onto the Clipper superstar. Most importantly, though, was Ball getting revenge on Patrick Beverley with a score and a taunt in that first quarter.
