Clippers dismiss Pelicans to keep pace in tight playoff race

INGLEWOOD With a handful of regular-season games remaining, playing solid basketball and staying healthy are keys for the Clippers.

But locking down a top-six spot in the Western Conference playoffs is their priority.And to get there, the Clippers need to win, something that has come relatively easily lately.

Wednesday nights 114-98 victory over the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans at the Intuit Dome was another example of the urgency they are taking to the final stretch of games.Weve been (doing that) the last 15 or so games and understanding whats at stake, Coach Tyronn Lue said.

Our guys are locked in, they understand whats at risk and we plan to get that top-six seed.So, taking care of business tonight, being professional.

We understand theyre undermanned, but we cant overlook this team.

We got to be professional in our approach and just kind of go from there.Wednesdays victory did little to solidify their position in the ever-tightening conference race.The Clippers, who have won 12 of their past 15 games, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies own identical 44-32 records with less than two weeks left.

Those teams occupy the Nos.

6-8 spots in the standings, but the logjam is much tighter than that with spots 3-8 are all separated by just 212 games.You dont want to go into the Play-In games because one or two games, anything can happen, Lue said.

So, thats been our focus, our mindset and Ill give our guys credit, theyve been doing a good job with that.Still, the Clippers cant afford to take any opponent lightly, especially a Pelicans squad that had dominated them in recent years.

The Clippers have beaten the Pelicans just three times over the past three-plus seasons.Unlike previous tries, though, the Clippers led the Pelicans by 12 at halftime Wednesday and rode it to a comfortable victory in the opener of a five-game homestand.There were a few nervous moments, though.The Clippers, who led by as many as 15, saw their advantage dwindle to 70-64 midway through the third quarter.

After a hook shot by center Ivica Zubac and consecutive baskets by Norman Powell, the Clippers pushed their lead to 77-66 with 5:06 left in the period.The score remained close until the Clippers outscored the Pelicans 7-2 to close out the third.The Pelicans cut the margin to 91-82 early in the fourth quarter, but thats as close as they got as the Clippers secured their fourth victory over the past nine days.This is a team that is gearing up for the playoffs and theyve, over the last 10 games, been one of the best teams in the NBA on both sides of the ball, so its going to be a major challenge for us as we step on the floor, Pelicans coach Willie Green said before the game.The challenge was trying to contain Kawhi Leonard, who continues to come up big after missing the first 34 games.

He scored a game-high 28 points (on 11-of-18 shooting from the field, 3 for 5 from 3-point range).James Harden added 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and had 10 assists.

Harden passed Eric Gordon for 10th place on the Clippers career list for 3-point field goals in the first quarter with his 404th.Zubac posted his 53rd double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) and added six assists, while Bogdan Bogdanovic had 16 points.The Pelicans, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, were without four of their top six scorers.

CJ McCollum (foot) and Zion Williamson (back) have both been ruled out for the season.

Jordan Hawkins (back) and Dejounte Murray (leg) were also unavailable.Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado scored a team-high 17 points and had 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which shot just 4 for 22 from 3-point range.

Brown had 16 points, while Yves Missi contributed six points and 12 rebounds.More to come on this story.Related ArticlesClippers look for strong homestand amid tight playoff raceClippers ride stingy defense to victory over Magic in finale of 3-1 tripClippers late rally falls short in loss to CavaliersKawhi Leonard, surging Clippers crush struggling NetsClippers shoot their way past Knicks, move into tie for 6th in West.

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