Brandon Ingram responds to decisive plays by Kawhi Leonard, allowing the Pelicans to climb the standings. For him 36 points and New Orleans beats the Los Angeles Clippers 122-114.
Jonas Valanciunas contributed 23 points — 15 of them in the third quarter — and 12 rebounds for New Orleans (40-38), which won for the seventh time in eight games and came within half a game of the Clippers (41-38 ) in sixth place in the Western.
Despite Leonard’s 40 points, Los Angeles suffered their second straight loss. Leonard played 41 minutes after being limited to 18 in last night’s Memphis loss.
CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III each added 19 points for New Orleans, which trailed for much of the first three quarters but held a slim lead into the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook had 24 points and nine assists for the Clippers, while Ivica Zubac had 15 points and Norman Powell 12.