New Orleans Pelicans @ LA Clippers
Friday, October 31, 2025 at 10:30 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA | Game ID: 22500027
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 26 41 27 32 126NOP 28 31 25 40 124
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Kawhi Leonard wins it at buzzer, Clippers hold off hot-shooting Pelicans 126-124
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — Kawhi Leonard made a buzzer-beater and finished with 34 points to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 126-124 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in the first game of the NBA Cup group stage for both teams.
Leonard pump-faked to get Jeremiah Fears up in the air and then rose up for a long 2-point shot to win it after Zion Williamson had tied it with 9.6 seconds remaining by making two free throws.
James Harden had 24 points and 14 assists, and the Clippers have won all three home games to start the season. Derrick Jones Jr . scored 16 points, and Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Jordan Poole had 30 points and made seven 3-pointers, Williamson finished with 29 points, but the Pelicans remained winless through five games. It is their worst start since dropping eight in a row to begin the 2016-17 campaign.
The Clippers had led by as many as 17 in the second half but their struggles to defend the Pelicans’ shooting from 3-point range made things harder than they had to be.
New Orleans ended up 18 of 37 (48.6%) from 3, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a dynamic showing from Los Angeles, led by Harden as both a scorer and distributor.
Harden had 14 points and five assists in the second quarter alone, including a four-point play when Yves Missi didn’t give him room to land on a long 3.
Up next Pelicans: Visit the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPDQ D. Queen
HJ H. Jones
JA J. Alvarado
JF J. Fears
JP J. Poole
KM K. Matković
SB S. Bey
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
LACBB B. Beal
BL B. Lopez
CP C. Paul
DJ D. Jones Jr.
IZ I. Zubac
JC J. Collins
JH J. Harden
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
NB N. Batum
NOP/LAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur