Andrew LopezESPN
For the New Orleans Pelicans, everything seemed lost in the third quarter of Friday night in Los Angeles. The team that started the season with 1-12 and scored 14-32 at its lowest point had returned to 36-46 and took the No. 9 seed in the play-in tournament of the Western Region. Things were going well for the Pelicans in the first half of Friday, as they had a 16-point lead. But then that lead quickly disappeared. They watched as the LA Clippers – who played without Paul George’s star because of COVID-19 – quickly gained a 13-point lead as the Crypto.com Arena prepared for a series of first-round playoffs. 2 About But Pelicans coach Willie Green put his group in order, relied on his two stars and a handful of rookies, and watched the Pelicans counterattack to shock the Clippers and win 105-101. Jonas Valantsiounas scored the foul as the Clippers tried to commit a foul with 12.6 seconds to close the deal. The Clippers then lost two three-pointers to spark the Pelicans’ celebration. New Orleans qualifies from the play-in tournament as No. 8 and will now face the top Phoenix Suns in a series that starts on Sunday. The Pelicans become just the fourth team in NBA history to start a season 1-12 or worse and advance to the playoffs, joining the Suns 1996-97 (0-13), the Cleveland Cavaliers 1984-85 (1-12) and 1967. -68 Chicago Bulls (1-12), according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Pelicans had a 56-41 lead with less than a minute left for the second half. The Clippers responded with a 34-6 run that led to the next frame as they led 75-62 with 4:01 remaining for the third quarter. Season, TeamResult2021-22 Pelicans? 1996-97 SunsL, 1st Round1984-85 CavaliersL, 1st Round1967-68 BullsL, Div Semis– ESPN Stats & Information Los Angeles took a 10-point lead in the last ten minutes, but the Pelicans countered. The Clippers scored the first three points in the fourth, and then New Orleans woke up. A 14-1 streak tied the game at 88, and the teams exchanged buckets to equalize at 94 as well. It was then that New Orleans scored seven in a row – a Larry Nance Jr. back-up, a CJ McCollum midfielder and a Trey Murphy three-pointer – to take control. The third ten minutes went as badly as they could for New Orleans, which prevailed 38-18. He shot 6 of 22 from the field, 1 in 7 from deep and 5 in 12 from the free throw line. McCollum, Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram were all minus 20 in the frame. The Clippers’ coach, Tai Lou, was small in the second half, submitting to Robert Covington for Ivica Zubacs, and he paid immediately. Green tried different tricks to give his team a jolt, and even turned to Tony Snell, who had not actually played minutes for the Pelicans in a month. When that did not work, he turned to Murphy, who rewarded his coach for his loyalty to him.
