Pelicans lose big lead in third quarter, then rally past Clippers in fourth to reach playoffs

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All seemed lost in the third quarter for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The team that started the season 1-12 and was 14-32 at its lowest point was the one that grabbed the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

In the first half, things were going the way of the Pelicans as they built a 16-point lead. But then the lead vanished. They watched the LA Clippers play without Paul George and they were leading by 13 points.

Willie Green settled down his group, leaned on his two stars and a handful of rookies and watched as his team fought back to shock the Clippers and come away with a 105-101 win.

The Clippers were trying to foul with 12.6 seconds to go, but Valanciunas slammed home his dunk. The Clippers missed two 3-pointers after that.

New Orleans will face the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

The 1996-97 Suns were the only team in NBA history to start a season 1-12 or worse and make the playoffs.

The lead was 56-41 with less than a minute left in the second quarter. The Clippers took a 75-62 lead with 4:01 left in the third quarter after a 34-6 run that led into the next frame.

The Los Angeles led by 10 points in the final quarter. The Clippers scored the first three points in the fourth, and New Orleans woke up. The teams traded buckets to tie the game at 94. New Orleans scored seven in a row, including a dunk by Larry Nance Jr., and took control.

New Orleans was outscored 38-18 in the third quarter. It shot 6-of-22 from the field, 1-of-7 from deep and 5-of-12 from the free-throw line. The three minus-20s in the frame were Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, and Josh McCollum.

Clippers coach Ty Lue went small in the second half, subbing in Robert Covington for Ivica Zubac, and it paid dividends right away. Green tried different lineups to give his team a boost, and even turned to Tony Snell, who hadn't played in a month.

He went back to Murphy after that failed to work.