New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Saddiq Bey (41) shoots a three pointer over LA Clippers guard Darius Garland (10) during the first half of the basketball game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
The New Orleans Pelicans started slowly and quickly turned things around in a 124-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in the Smoothie King Center.
The Pelicans trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, allowed 40 points in the first quarter, but caught up by halftime and dominated the second half for their sixth consecutive home victory.
Saddiq Bey scored 25 points, Trey Murphy had 23, Dejounte Murray, returning from a one-game absence due to illness finished with 17 points and 11 assists, Derik Queen and Zion Williamson scored 14 each and Jeremiah Fears added 11 for New Orleans (23-47), which won for the ninth time in 13 games and will try to earn a tie in the season series when it faces the Clippers (34-35) again at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Smoothie King Center.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points, John Collins had 18, Darius Garland had 13 and Jordan Miller scored 13 each. Brook Lopez had 11 and Isaiah Jackson added 10 to lead L.A., which lost its third straight after winning seven of eight.
Bey’s layup started the second-half scoring, broke a 60-all tie, and gave New Orleans its first lead since the score was 12-11. Williamson followed with a layup and the Pelicans expanded the lead to 83-74 on a follow-up by Karlo Matkovic.
L.A. got as close as five points but New Orleans closed with a 10-4 run to grab a 96-85 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Pelicans began the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 16-point lead. The Clippers closed eight points three times, but Bey made a 3-pointer and Murray made a 3-pointer and fed Murphy for a dunk to start a 12-0 run that gave New Orleans a 121-101 lead.
The Pelicans lost to the Clippers 137-117 on March 1 in Los Angeles after falling behind 43-32 after one quarter and ultimately allowing 36 points on 17 turnovers. They trailed by as many as 18 points and trailed 40-26 after the first quarter Wednesday, turning the ball over nine times, leading to nine L.A. points.
New Orleans took much better care of the basketball in the second quarter, committing just two turnovers that led to five Clippers points. Bey scored 11 points in the period and Murphy had five in the last 31 seconds, helping the Pelicans pull even at 60 at halftime.