Game ID: 22500027
New Orleans Pelicans @ LA Clippers
Friday, October 31, 2025 at 10:30 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 26 41 27 32 126NOP 28 31 25 40 124
LAC vs NOP ScoutingLAC vs NOP Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
LAC availability going into 10/22 · season opener
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/24 · 1 day's rest
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's restOUT Bogdanović missed 2 since 10/22, returns tonight: 24 min (120% of 20)
LAC availability going into 10/28 · 1 day's restBACK Bogdanović back 10/26 after 2, 24 min since (120% of 20)
LAC availability going into 10/31 · 2 days' restOUT Beal missed 2 since 10/26, returns tonight: 21 min (105% of 20)
OUT Sanders missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Bogdanović back 10/26 after 2, 16 min since (84% of 20)
LAC availability going into 11/03 · 2 days' restOUT Sanders missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Beal back 10/31 after 2, 21 min since (105% of 20)
BACK Bogdanović back 10/26 after 2, 16 min since (84% of 20)
LAC availability going into 11/04 · back-to-backOUT Sanders missed 4 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Bogdanović missed 2 since 10/31, returns tonight: 30 min (150% of 20)
OUT Niederhäuser missed 2 since 10/31, returns tonight: 7 min (64% of 10)
BACK Beal back 10/31 after 2, 21 min since (102% of 20)
LAC availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Sanders missed 5 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Beal back 10/31 after 2, 21 min since (102% of 20)
BACK Bogdanović back 10/26 after 2, 21 min since (106% of 20)
BACK Niederhäuser back 11/04 after 2, 7 min since (64% of 10)
LAC availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Leonard missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Sanders missed 6 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Beal back 10/31 after 2, 20 min since (100% of 20)
BACK Bogdanović back 11/04 after 2, 29 min since (147% of 20)
BACK Niederhäuser back 11/04 after 2, 5 min since (45% of 10)
NOP availability going into 10/22 · season opener
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/24 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NOP availability going into 10/27 · 2 days' restOUT Peavy missed 2 since 10/22, returns tonight: 3 min (22% of 15)
NOP availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's restOUT Alexander missed 2 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Peavy back 10/27 after 2, 3 min since (22% of 15)
NEW Poole 24 to 36 min over the last 3
NOP availability going into 10/31 · 1 day's restOUT Alexander missed 3 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Peavy back 10/27 after 2, 6 min since (37% of 15)
NEW Poole 24 to 32 min over the last 4
NOP availability going into 11/02 · 1 day's restOUT Alexander missed 4 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Peavy back 10/27 after 2, 6 min since (37% of 15)
NEW Poole 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 2 since 10/31, out tonight
OUT Alexander missed 5 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Peavy back 10/27 after 2, 6 min since (40% of 15)
NEW Poole 24 to 31 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/05 · back-to-backOUT Jordan missed 3 since 10/31, out tonight
OUT Alexander missed 6 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Peavy back 10/27 after 2, 6 min since (40% of 15)
NOP availability going into 11/08 · 2 days' restOUT Williamson missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT McGowens missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Missi missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 4 since 10/31, out tonight
OUT Alexander missed 7 since 10/24, out tonight
10/22 @ UTA 108-129 — LAC notes
LAC lost 108-129. LAC shot 44% (39 of 88) to UTA's 55%, 14 of 45 from three. Zubac led with 19 (9 of 13); Harden added 15, Lopez 15. Q4 was theirs, 28-21, the deficit cut from 28 to 21, but the other 3 periods went 108-80 against them. Leonard's -25 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/24 vs PHX 129-102 — LAC notes
LAC won 129-102. LAC shot 59% (45 of 76) to PHX's 41%, 16 of 29 from three, and went to the line 26 times to PHX's 15 — 23 points from the stripe to their 12. Harden led with 30 (8 of 12, 5 of 7 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Leonard added 27, Jones Jr. 17. The hinge was Q2, 38-23: a lead of 1 became 16, and the lead reached 32. Collins was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
10/26 vs POR 114-107 — LAC notes
LAC won 114-107. LAC shot 55% (44 of 80) to POR's 37%, 12 of 31 from three, and got to the line 15 times to POR's 34. LAC turned it over 22 times to POR's 16, and POR turned those into 12 steals. Leonard led with 30 (11 of 21, 4 of 6 from three); Zubac added 21, Harden 20. The hinge was Q1, 34-23: from level to 11 ahead. LAC trailed 55-60 at the half and won the second half 59-47. Harden was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
10/28 @ GSW 79-98 — LAC notes
LAC lost 79-98. LAC shot 37% (30 of 82) to GSW's 45%, 6 of 33 from three, and went to the line 16 times to GSW's 4 — 13 points from the stripe to their 3. Harden led with 20 (6 of 15, 1 of 5 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Leonard added 18, Zubac 14. Q2 was theirs, 24-13, turning a 8-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 85-55 against them. Leonard's -29 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/31 vs NOP 126-124 — LAC notes
LAC won 126-124. LAC shot 52% (46 of 89) to NOP's 48%, 15 of 39 from three, and got to the line 21 times to NOP's 29. Leonard led with 34 (11 of 16, 5 of 8 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Harden added 24, Jones Jr. 16. The hinge was Q2, 41-31: LAC came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 17. Jones Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
11/03 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 24 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Sanders (3 straight). 2 days' rest. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Adebayo at 23 and Jaquez Jr. at 20 a game. Without Powell (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: The Clippers win, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it the Clippers 117, Miami 116, Miami keeping it close.
11/04 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Leonard at 27 and Harden at 25 a game. Without Sanders (4 straight), Bogdanović (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 102, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 29 and Mitchell at 16 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Holmgren (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Clippers giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 11 and the defense, OKC allowing 102 a night to the Clippers' 110. Call it OKC 115, the Clippers 110.
11/06 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Booker at 34 and Allen at 17 a game. Without Brooks (5 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 27 and Harden at 24 a game. Without Sanders (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-2 a night and Phoenix minus-3. Call it Phoenix 118, the Clippers 113.
11/08 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Leonard at 26 and Harden at 24 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Leonard (2 straight), Sanders (6 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Booker at 32 and Allen at 16 a game. Without Brooks (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Phoenix at 41 percent from three to the Clippers' 35 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 110 a night to the Clippers' 117. Call it Phoenix 115, the Clippers 112, the Clippers keeping it close.
10/22 @ MEM 122-128 — NOP notes
NOP lost 122-128. NOP took 18 more shots (98 to 80), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to MEM's 51%, 10 of 27 from three, and got to the line 31 times to MEM's 43. Williamson led with 27 (10 of 21, 7 of 12 at the line); Jones added 17, Poole 17. Q2 was theirs, 37-29, but the other 3 periods went 99-85 against them. They led by as many as 15. Bey's -13 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/24 vs SAS 116-120 — NOP notes
NOP lost 116-120 in 1 overtime. NOP shot 43% (42 of 97) to SAS's 46%, 10 of 32 from three. NOP turned it over 13 times to SAS's 18. The glass went 45-59 against them. Williamson led with 27 (8 of 18, 11 of 16 at the line); Murphy III added 24, Poole 21. Q2 was theirs, 31-27, turning a 3-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 4 periods went 93-85 against them. Jones's -20 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/27 vs BOS 90-122 — NOP notes
NOP lost 90-122. NOP shot 33% (28 of 84) to BOS's 48%, 9 of 36 from three, and went to the line 28 times to BOS's 15 — 25 points from the stripe to their 12. The glass went 35-54 against them. Poole led with 22 (5 of 14, 3 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Queen added 12, Bey 11. Q3 was theirs, 24-22, the deficit cut from 11 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 100-66 against them. Fears's -31 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/29 @ DEN 88-122 — NOP notes
NOP lost 88-122. NOP shot 38% (32 of 85) to DEN's 53%, 7 of 34 from three, and went to the line 29 times to DEN's 14 — 17 points from the stripe to their 12. The glass went 36-56 against them. Fears led with 21 (10 of 15, 1 of 3 from three); Williamson added 11, Missi 10. Q2 was theirs, 22-19, the deficit cut from 9 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 103-66 against them. Poole's -35 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/31 @ LAC 124-126 — NOP notes
NOP lost 124-126. NOP shot 48% (40 of 83) to LAC's 52%, 18 of 37 from three, and went to the line 29 times to LAC's 21 — 26 points from the stripe to their 19. Poole led with 30 (9 of 15, 7 of 13 from three); Williamson added 29, Murphy III 17. Q4 was theirs, 40-32, the deficit cut from 10 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 94-84 against them.
11/02 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 31 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Holmgren at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Holmgren (2 straight). 2 days' rest. New Orleans comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 124, shooting 42 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Williamson at 24 and Poole at 20 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where OKC has been plus-5 a night and New Orleans minus-8 and the defense, OKC allowing 108 a night to New Orleans's 124. Call it OKC 123, New Orleans 107, OKC by 16.
11/04 vs CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 125, shooting 41 percent and 34 from three, 29 free throws a game; Williamson at 22 and Poole at 19 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Jordan (2 straight). One day's rest. Charlotte comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Ball at 23 and Bridges at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Miller (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Charlotte wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Charlotte has been plus-7 a night and New Orleans minus-10. Call it Charlotte 122, New Orleans 115.
11/05 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 29 from three, 29 free throws a game; Davis at 20 and Washington at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Nembhard (3 straight), Lively II (3 straight). One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 124, shooting 42 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Williamson at 20 and Poole at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Jordan (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Dallas wins, and the game turns on the defense, Dallas allowing 112 a night to New Orleans's 124 and the arc, New Orleans at 36 percent from three to Dallas's 29. Call it Dallas 118, New Orleans 108, Dallas by 10.
11/08 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 29 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 20 and Castle at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Harper (2 straight), Kornet (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 119, shooting 44 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Williamson at 20 and Poole at 15 a game. Without Williamson (2 straight), McGowens (2 straight), Missi (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-6 a night and New Orleans minus-3 and the defense, San Antonio allowing 112 a night to New Orleans's 119. Call it San Antonio 119, New Orleans 109, San Antonio by 10.
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
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.