Williamson powers Pelicans past Clippers, 112-104

In the battle for playoff position in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Clippers entered Friday night’s game at New Orleans in fourth place, sitting three games ahead of the Pelicans.

With much at stake, the two teams played like it from start to finish before a frenzied crowd, perhaps the most vocal of the season at Smoothie King Center.

With much on the line, Zion Williamson took his game to a different level and took the Pelicans with him as New Orleans picked up a key win with a 112-104 victory.

Williamson pumped in 34 points with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in a complete effort.

The game had a playoff feel from the start.

In a first quarter which set the tone for the entire game, both teams defended with great physicality and intensity and the Clippers emerged with a 22-20 lead.

New Orleans shot just 39 percent from the field in the first half but defended well and carried a 50-44 lead into the break.

Williamson scored 16 points in the third quarter as New Orleans jumped out to an 11-point lead at 62-51 but the Clippers bounced back to cut the deficit to 82-80 by the end of the quarter, closing the quarter on a 29-20 run.

New Orleans would not relinquish the lead at any point in the fourth quarter.

Bench play was huge as the Pelicans got 43 points from reserves, led by Trey Murphy III with 14 points and six rebounds, including four 3-pointers. Larry Nance Jr. was big with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, Jose Alvarado had nine points and Naji Marshall scored eight points.

It was needed as Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum were held to 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Pelicans took care of the ball, committing just nine turnovers, compared to 15 for the Clippers. New Orleans had 28 assists to just 18 for Los Angeles.

The big difference in the game was points in the paint, with New Orleans dominating by a 58-36 margin, largely thanks to the performance of Williamson, who has scored 33 and 34 points in his last two games and is averaging 31.3 points per game over his last three games. He is raising the level of his game to a higher level at the right time.

The win was the 40th of the season for the Pelicans, now 40-26 with 16 games to play, maintaining the fifth spot in the Western Conference.

Defense was huge for the Pelicans, who held the Clippers 10 points below their season average.

The Clippers had won eight of their last 10 road games. The Pelicans, a better road team than home team thus far, took care of business at home.

Now comes a challenge as the Pelicans must quickly respond from the emotional, physically taxing effort when they host Portland Saturday evening in the second of a back-to-back. The Blazers are just 19-47.

Though it will be a tough ask, the Pelicans have to take care of business and should do so.