Brow-less Pelicans snap Clippers' winning streak

With no Anthony Davis, not even home court could have made New Orleans Pelicans fans confident hosting the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

The Clippers came in having won six in a row and 12 of their last 15, pushing to second in the league in adjusted net rating and back into the home court advantage picture in the Western Conference. No slouches themselves sitting in ninth in the conference, a Pelicans team without Davis and Jrue Holiday seemed woefully over-matched on paper.

Though, games are not played on paper.

Eric Gordon answered the call, scoring a season-high 28 points and dishing seven assists, shooting 10-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-7 from outside. The oft-injured shooting guard had a slow start to the season before hitting the shelf but has begun to look more and more like the player who earned a four-year, $58.4-million contract in 2012 in January.

Flanked by fill-in power forward Ryan Anderson (24 points, nine rebounds), makeshift point guard Tyreke Evans (11 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists) and unexpected stalwart Alexis Ajinca (17 points, nine rebounds, three blocks), the Pelicans made things incredibly tough for a Clippers team that just appeared to lack the defensive energy to keep them off the line and the arc.

Offensively, the Clippers were fine. Though, they were cold from outside and didn't get to the line as much as they're used to. Chris Paul (24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) had a solid outing but Blake Griffin (19 points, four rebounds, six assists) was unable to take advantage of Davis' absence in any meaningful way.

No team is going to win them all, but the Clippers dropped what appeared to be a winnable one on Friday. What's worse, it was just the second game of their eight-game Grammy road trip, one that will see them visit the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.