The LA Clippers fell short on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, 116-109. Here are three takeaways from the fourth game of the season.
The LA Clippers put forth a strong effort against the NBA’s best offense last night in New Orleans but ultimately fell short, 116-109. Patrick Beverley had a near-triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in roughly 27 minutes of play.
There were multiple solid showings from individual players last night — including Beverley –some of which we’ll be getting into later on, and others right now. Let’s start with Lou Williams.
The two-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner has struggled so far this season, shooting an abysmal 21.1 percent from three-point range and 35.8 percent from the floor. Although his three-point numbers won’t improve after last night (he missed all three attempts), Williams did look more like the version we saw last season than we’ve seen so far this year.
Williams scored 17 points (13 in the second half) to go along with three rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes of action. He also accounted for four turnovers, most of which came down the stretch when the Clippers had multiple chances to make it a one-possession game. He wasn’t the only one committing them, but it was still uncharacteristic and hopefully something that works itself out. His shot selection was questionable at times as well, but the soon-to-be-32-year-old guard put forth a mostly strong showing.
Montrezl Harrell was another player that looked very impressive. After going for 17 and 10 against his former team on Sunday, Harrell recorded 12 points, six rebounds, and two huge blocks in 23 minutes of play. He had the highest plus/minus rating on the team, a +7.
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We’ve got several other talking points about last night’s contest on the next few slides. Let’s dive in.