NBA Game Summary - LA Clippers at New Orleans
New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Gordon scored a season-high 28 points to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a 108-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
Ryan Anderson netted 24 points and went 5-of-11 from 3-point range, while Alexis Ajinca supplied 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Tyreke Evans had 11 points and 12 assists for the Pelicans, who have won five of their last six games.
"It's good to be able to win like that in front of our crowd," New Orleans head coach Monty Williams said. "We got hot and our defense was effective."
Chris Paul finished with 24 points, Blake Griffin scored 19 and DeAndre Jordan contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who had their six-game winning streak come to an end.
"Sometimes the basketball gods say you shouldn't win the game," Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought tonight was one of those nights."
New Orleans opened the second half on an 11-2 run that contained two Gordon treys. Anderson scored 14 points during the third quarter as New Orleans led 88-76 heading into the final stanza.
The Clippers scored six straight points early in the fourth, but Ajinca's dunk and three-point play restored the Pelicans' lead to 95-82 with 7:38 to go.
Paul scored 10 points during a 12-0 swing to get Los Angeles within 95-94 with 5:07 remaining.
With under two minutes to play, Gordon knocked down a turnaround fadeaway shot and Dante Cunningham threw down a dunk to give the Pelicans a six-point lead and seal the win.
Quincy Pondexter made a jumper and a 3-pointer before Jamal Crawford beat the buzzer with a bank shot as the Pelicans led 28-26 after the first quarter.
Anderson bookended a 9-2 spurt with treys to give New Orleans a 47-41 with 4:24 to play in the first half, but Griffin responded with four points during an 8-0 run to put the Clippers in front.
After New Orleans went ahead on a pair of Gordon free throws with under a minute to play, Paul drove through the lane for a layup with 3.2 seconds left and Los Angeles held a 54-53 advantage at the break.