Pelicans get easy third win vs Clippers, Valanciunas posts double-double
FILE–Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the New Orleans Pelicans. Sean Gardner/Getty Images/AFP
Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double and five teammates scored in double figures as the host New Orleans Pelicans never trailed during a 113-89 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
Valanciunas finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds, Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 24 points, Herbert Jones added 14, Jaxson Hayes and Devonte’ Graham had 13 each and Josh Hart scored 12.
The Pelicans led by 13 points at the end of the first quarter and by 19 at halftime. They never lost control against a Clippers team that had overcome a 25-point third-quarter deficit in defeating visiting Denver 87-85 on Tuesday.
a block, a steal, and 4 points in 16 seconds. we'll take it 😎 pic.twitter.com/aTeEuk3uIq
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 14, 2022
New Orleans improved to 3-0 against Los Angeles this season and won for the seventh time in the last nine home games.
Terance Mann scored 15 points, and Marcus Morris Sr. added 12 as the only Clippers starter to score in double figures. Serge Ibaka, Brandon Boston Jr. and Xavier Moon tallied 10 points each.
Jones scored the first seven points of the third quarter to give New Orleans a 60-34 lead.
Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to 17 on a 3-pointer by Reggie Jackson, but Valanciunas and Jones answered with consecutive 3-pointers.
The Pelicans led by as many as 28 before the Clippers reduced the deficit to 87-63 at the end of the third quarter.
Can we get some RTs for a #JonasValanciunas three ball?#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/5CmjGD3Cjy
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 14, 2022
Los Angeles scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter before Jones’ basket provided New Orleans’ first points.
The Clippers eventually crept within 13, but they didn’t get any closer.
In the first quarter, Ingram converted a three-point play and made a 3-point jumper as New Orleans took a 13-2 lead. Hayes’ basket extended the lead to 26-7 as the Clippers’ cold shooting continued.
But the Pelicans scored just two points in the final 2:50, and their lead shrank to 28-15 by the end of the quarter.
Garrett Temple started the second-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker made consecutive baskets as New Orleans quickly pushed the lead to 20.
Hayes’ dunk gave the Pelicans their biggest lead, 23 points at 49-26, before Los Angeles trimmed it 19 (53-34) at halftime.
