Kawhi Leonard's 39 Help Clippers Outlast Lonzo Ball, Pelicans for 133-130 Win

The Los Angeles Clippers began a six-game road trip Saturday with a 133-130 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in Louisiana.

L.A. continued its recent run of strong play despite the absence of star forward Paul George, who missed his fifth straight game with a hamstring injury. The Clips have won three consecutive contests and own a superb 8-3 record since beating the rival Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day.

New Orleans is eagerly awaiting the return of first overall pick Zion Williamson, who's scheduled to make his NBA debut Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. The Pelicans had four wins in their past five games before Saturday's loss to one of the league's top title contenders.

Notable Game Stats

Kawhi Leonard (LAC): 39 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 5 STL

Lou Williams (LAC): 32 PTS, 5 AST

Montrezl Harrell (LAC): 24 PTS

Derrick Favors (NO): 22 PTS, 11 REB

Brandon Ingram (NO): 21 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST

Lonzo Ball (NO): 18 PTS, 10 REB, 11 AST

JJ Redick (NO): 19 PTS

Leonard Warrants More MVP Consideration

Leonard is one of the NBA's most decorated players. He was named Finals MVP after leading both the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors to the 2014 and 2019 titles, respectively, and he's been named the Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-NBA First Team two times apiece.

The 28-year-old Los Angeles native has never won the regular-season MVP award, however, and he's being treated as an afterthought again despite his strong play so far in the 2019-20 campaign.

Leonard is sixth in the latest odds, but his +4100 betting line is far behind the top five contenders: the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (-145), Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic (+350), Houston Rockets' James Harden (+459) and the Los Angeles Lakers' tandem of LeBron James (+750) and Anthony Davis (+900), per Oddschecker.

While he's missed some time because of minor injuries and load management, he's been terrific when on the floor in his first year with the Clippers. He entered the game averaging 26.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.9 steals across 32 appearances.

A sizable portion of that production has come without another superstar-level player on the floor because of George's injuries. He's played 26 of the Clips' 43 games.

Leonard was once again stellar without his high-profile running mate Saturday. He scored 21 points in the first half to keep L.A. within striking distance amid an otherwise lackluster defensive effort that allowed New Orleans to put 80 points on the scoreboard by halftime.

His two-way contributions are why he ranked fourth in ESPN's Real Plus-Minus behind only James, Giannis and Harden entering Saturday.

Leonard shouldn't be the runaway MVP front-runner by any means. All of those other players mentioned above are having outstanding seasons in their own right, and a top two of reigning MVP Antetokounmpo and Doncic is probably a fair assessment by the oddsmakers.

That said, the Clippers' leading scorer at least deserves a place a place in the conversation, especially if he can remain healthy during the season's second half.

Ball Emerging As X-Factor For Pelicans

Ball has taken on more of a leading role within the New Orleans offense with fellow guard Jrue Holiday sidelined for the past seven contests by an elbow injury. He's responded by playing some of the best basketball of his career.

The 22-year-old UCLA product entered the NBA amid incredible hype but endured a pair of up-and-down seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the Pelicans in the offseason. Perhaps getting away from the bright lights of L.A. was the best thing for him.

He averaged 15.8 points, 9.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 threes in eight January appearances entering the clash with the Clippers. He continued to put his offensive progress on display Saturday, including four triples to already bring him within 10 of his season-high with the Lakers.

The hot streak comes at a perfect time as New Orleans attempts to make a surge toward the playoffs.

When you consider that Ingram is enjoying a breakout campaign, Ball's finally putting everything together, the returns of Williamson and Holiday in the near future and a potent supporting cast led by a veteran sharpshooter in Redick, the talent is there to make some serious noise.

The third-year point guard still projects as a streaky shooter, but the Pelicans won't need him to fill up the basket every night when they're at full strength. The knowledge he's capable of the occasional 25-point outburst is a major step in the right direction, though.

Ball's potential and across-the-board production has never been in question. He's finally starting to look like a player worthy of the second overall pick in the 2017 draft, and that's great news for New Orleans.

What's Next?

The 30-13 Clippers' next stop is the American Airlines Center, where they will take on the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

New Orleans, which now stands at 16-27, travels to the FedEx Forum to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night before returning home for Williamson's first NBA game Wednesday.