Norm of the Fourth: Powell haymakers Pelicans for 35 in chaotic ending
Whether pretty or ugly, the Clippers keep stacking much-needed wins.
The LA Clippers have come to accept two truths 32 games into this NBA season: the first of which is that life without star forward Kawhi Leonard could have been worse than it’s been, and the second is that guard Norman Powell is a big reason why it hasn’t been.
On Monday night in New Orleans, Powell yet again helped deliver a win for the Clippers as they survived a hellacious affair with the hometown Pelicans and emerged from the ashes with a 116-113 victory.
Powell scored 16 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, including nine straight at one point, as the Clippers erased a 14-point deficit to nab a third straight win.
“He was huge,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the game of Powell’s impact. “Being able to attack the paint, get to the basket, get to the free throw line, made some big shots for us as well. So, we needed every bit of it.”
Did they ever as the Clippers were hit with a barrage of threes from a Pelicans team that came into the night as one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the entire NBA.
New Orleans shot 18 of 37 on three-pointers in the loss.
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