Postgame wrap: Pelicans 117, Clippers 106

New Orleans hasn’t always fared well in its recent matchups against some of the Western Conference’s top-tier teams, but on Wednesday, the Pelicans returned to their uncanny multi-year success against the Clippers on the latter’s home floor. One night after LA moved into first place in the West, New Orleans pushed the Clippers back out of the No. 1 spot, taking a 17-point first-quarter lead and holding the edge on the scoreboard all game. Trey Murphy’s hot deep shooting helped stake the visitors to an early surge; CJ McCollum closed out the Clippers with long-range bombing in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Zion Williamson followed up a quiet start scoring-wise with a second-half takeover and another double-digit assist game. New Orleans won for the fourth consecutive time in Crypto.com Arena while facing the Clippers and has prevailed in 10 of the last 12 meetings overall.

Williamson’s second half.After no field goals and just two points prior to intermission, the two-time All-Star was determined to make an impact by spearheading NOLA’s offensive attack. He repeatedly drew fouls by the Clippers and generated free throws on aggressive drives, quickly upping his point total. However, perhaps his more important contribution at that end of the floor was his passing, resulting in a total of 10 assists. He recently set his career high with 11 dimes in the blowout home victory over Utah. Williamson’s second-half stat tally Wednesday was 19 points on 7/14 shooting, four assists and two blocks.Dyson Daniels, defensive demon.The second-year guard from Australia was an ideal chess piece on defense for New Orleans while facing a Clippers team that has more All-Star level guards and wings than perhaps any NBA roster. Daniels used his elite anticipation and hands to rip the ball away from the likes of James Harden and Russell Westbrook, recording four steals and two blocks in just 21 minutes of action. Daniels added 10 points, doing all of his damage in the paint, including a fast-break layup and a pair of second-half dunks. He made all five of his two-point attempts.

Forty-eight minutes of focus.New Orleans set the tone early by hounding LA ballhandlers, making it difficult for the Clips to even get into their offense fluidly. Murphy on postgame radio, describing Wednesday’s start: “It was game-plan discipline, a good scout by our coaches. We were just really on point.” Third-year head coach Willie Green said, “It’s exhilarating to see our team lock in like we did. We knew the last time we played (the Clippers) on our home floor they dominated the game… It was great to see all of our guys lock in from the start.” There seemed to be zero letdown from that mentality over all four quarters.

10-7: New Orleans record this season against the six teams ahead of it in the West Conference standings (entering Wednesday). A chunk of those victories are from a 4-0 head-to-head mark vs. Sacramento.6: Speaking of the Kings, a surprise home loss by them against Detroit late Wednesday meant the Pelicans have moved into sixth place in the West. They have the same record as No. 5 Phoenix (30-21), but the Suns hold the standings edge based on a 1-0 season-series lead.19: Clippers turnovers, a major negative factor in them having two quarters in which they tallied 22 points or less.