After trailing by 10 heading into the fourth quarter in Friday night’s Western Conference play-in game, the Pelicans used a 31–14 run over the final 10:30 of regulation to beat the Clippers 105–101 and advance to the playoffs.
Following a tightly-contested first half in Los Angeles, the second half proved to be filled with massive scoring swings in both directions. The Pelicans led the Clippers 56–46 at halftime before being outscored by 20 in the third quarter to trail by 10 heading into the fourth.
But New Orleans never panicked thanks to the scoring prowess of Brandon Ingram, who notched a game-high 30 points on 14-of-21 shooting to lead the Pelicans to a playoff berth. Rookie guard Trey Murphy III and forward Larry Nance Jr. added 14 points apiece off the bench to help push New Orleans over the top in the fourth quarter.
