NBA highlights on March 15: Pelicans' 'Zanos' destroys Clippers

The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, beating the opponents three times in their four meetings during the 2023-24 regular season.

Zion "Zanos" Williamson dominated the Clippers' paint with his destructive power of charging the rim. He shot 14-for-21 from the field, all in the paint, and made all seven shots of his in the third quarter to drop a court-high 34 points. He also grabbed a game-high four offensive rebounds and went to the free throw line 10 times, more than anyone else in the game, though he missed four of those shots.

The Clippers didn't come to New Orleans unprepared for Williamson. Their three centers, Ivica Zubac, Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis, combined to play 46 minutes on Friday. Meanwhile, P. J. Tucker, who had been ruled out of regular rotations in the previous three months, played over 24 minutes against the Pelicans. These were supposed to be the Clippers' shield against Williamson.

However, coach Tyronn Lue failed to make the shield work. On Williamson's side, he held himself back from posting up in the low block, where it was easy to double-team him. Instead, he constantly drove off the dribble to charge the rim from the two wings and maintained a soft touch in shooting floaters. On the Clippers' side, though they often had Tucker and a center on the floor, they also had a center switch to guard Williamson. As a result, Williamson could break into the paint without being slowed down to either make buckets or draw free throws.

Furthermore, keeping a center on the court during nearly the whole game, especially without James Harden, hurt the Clippers' spacing badly. Both Plumlee and Theis played no longer than eight minutes, but Zubac struggled on both ends of the game. Despite his remarkable ability of protecting the rim, he was too slow in following Williamson. On the offensive end, Zubac nearly became a liability when he couldn't receive the ball next to the hoop.

The Clippers had only three players score double-digit points: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Norman Powell. George shot 7-for-11 in field goals (FGs) in the first half to get 17 of his 26 points. Nonetheless, since the Pelicans had Larry Nance Jr. play longer from the third quarter to improve their switching ability on the defensive end, George was much quieter offensively.

Powell had 15 points off the bench, but his offensive contribution was not enough to cover the Clippers' defensive loss because he was a deadweight on this front. In the end, the team had to count on Leonard to do everything. He worked hard, but the Pelicans had enough defenders who could match him in size or power. Besides, the rest of the Clippers shot 11-for-30 outside the 3-point line, failing to ease the burden off Leonard's shoulders.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Phoenix Suns 107-96 Charlotte Hornets

The Suns' "Big Three," Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, combined to go 18-for-44 from the field to get no more than 49 points. It was far their best performance considering their abilities, but good enough to secure a win at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Booker was the best-performing player of the three in Friday's game, with a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists. In their decisive 38-22 run in the third period, he contributed 14 points and five assists, made all of his four 2-point shots and six free throws. This victory enabled the Suns to stay in seventh place in the Western Conference with a one-game lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

Miami Heat 108-95 Detroit Pistons

The Heat beat the Pistons for the third time this season at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday and rose to seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Bam Adebayo made 10 of his 14 FG attempts to score a team-high 22 points. He got 16 of those points in the second quarter, during which he missed only two of his nine shots.

The game was close in the first, second and fourth quarters. The Heat managed to build a double-digit lead by outscoring the Hornets 28-18 in the third period. Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson got eight and nine points, respectively, for the Heat in this quarter.

Orlando Magic 113-103 Toronto Raptors

Denver Nuggets 117-106 San Antonio Spurs

Atlanta Hawks 122-124 Utah Jazz