FILE — Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans celebrates after scoring against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Capital One Arena on April 16, 2021 in Washington, DC. Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP
Zion Williamson scored 23 points and Willy Hernangomez had a double-double as the host New Orleans Pelicans cooled off the Los Angeles Clippers 120-103 on Monday night.
Hernangomez, starting in place of injured Steven Adams (toe), had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball scored 18 each, Brandon Ingram had 17 and Wenyen Gabriel 10.
New Orleans (27-34) took the season series 2-1 with its second straight home-court route of the Clippers. The Pelicans, who entered Monday’s game having lost five of six, scored the most points by a Clippers opponent this season in a 135-115 victory March 14.
Zion tallies 23 PTS on 8-11 shooting as the @PelicansNBA win vs. LAC! #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/hx7QqG411N
— NBA (@NBA) April 27, 2021
Terance Mann scored 17 points, former Pelicans player DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Morris Sr. scored 15 and Amir Coffey 12 as Los Angeles (43-20) saw its four-game winning streak end and lost for just the second time in 13 games.
The injury-plagued Clippers played without Kawhi Leonard (foot), Patrick Beverley (hand) and Serge Ibaka (back).
Morris made two 3-pointers and Reggie Jackson made one as the Clippers pulled within 70-61 early in the third quarter.
Williamson and Ingram made back-to-back 3-pointers as New Orleans increased the lead to 83-66 midway through the quarter.
Ingram scored five more points as the Pelicans took a 95-78 lead at the end of the quarter.
L.A. briefly cut the deficit to 14 early in the fourth quarter before New Orleans pushed the lead back to 109-84 midway through the period.
The Clippers raced to a 9-2 lead before going cold for much of the first quarter.
They made just one field goal in a 6 1/2-minute stretch as the Pelicans went on a 27-4 run to take a 29-13 lead.
Coffey’s 3-pointer ended that run, and he added another jumper as Los Angeles pulled within 33-20 at the end of the period.
The Pelicans built the lead to 17 before the Clippers used an 11-0 run to get within 49-43.
Bledsoe scored nine points during a 13-5 run that left New Orleans with a 62-48 halftime lead.