INGLEWOOD — Maybe it was playing at Intuit Dome and the energy derived from the home crowd. Maybe it was seeing guard Bradley Beal in uniform after he missed the past two games because of back issues. Or maybe it was the thought of dropping below .500 so early into the new season.

Whatever has been bothering the Clippers was replaced by a sense of urgency Friday and they came up with a less-than-smooth 126-124 victory over the winless New Orleans Pelicans in their NBA Cup opener.

The Clippers held off a late run by the Pelicans, who had closed the gap to 124-122 with 19 seconds left. Zion Williamson went to the line and made both foul shots to tie the game with 9.6 seconds remaining.

Kawhi Leonard then got the ball from James Harden above the 3-point line, dribbled to his left and pulle

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