NEW ORLEANS — With three minutes and 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter and his team fighting to hold onto a late lead, New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green tried something new.

Coming out of a timeout, Green rolled with a five-man unit that hadn’t played all game: Zion Williamson at point guard; Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy on the wings; and Larry Nance Jr. at center. CJ McCollum, the team’s veteran leader, went to the bench.

Suddenly, it was on a unit that had only played five minutes all season to do something New Orleans has struggled with throughout the campaign: Close out a tight game in the final five minutes.

But in a pivotal moment, in one of the most important games of the season and a potential playoff preview, that Pelicans group executed on both ends to secure a 112-104 win over the LA Clippers in front of a raucous Smoothie King Center crowd. The win moved New Orleans (40-26) within two games of the fourth-seeded Clippers (42-24) while securing the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Pelicans also gave themselves a 1 1/2-game lead over Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings, two teams directly behind them in the Western Conference standings.

“It was fantastic. We’re all super proud of how we responded, taking care of home floor,” Green said. “Our guys, collectively, made winning plays after winning plays. It was a fun game to be a part of.”

While every win matters at this point in the season, this was one the Pelicans needed for their psyche. New Orleans was desperate for a quality home win against a top-tier opponent, which it hadn’t picked since beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in early December. Since then, the Pelicans have made a habit of stacking up big wins on the road, only to come home and lay an egg. The most recent example came Wednesday, when the Pels, after notching three straight road wins, were outclassed in a 116-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This time, the Pelicans were fully aware of the stakes and responded as one would expect from a good team in that situation. In Friday’s win, Williamson accounted for 34 points, seven rebounds and three steals, outplaying Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Ingram chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists, and the Pelicans got a combined 43 points from their bench.

Regardless of which team ends up with home-court advantage, there’s a good chance the Pelicans and Clippers will meet in the first round of the playoffs. While the absence of LA point guard James Harden’s was undoubtedly a major factor Friday, this game provided an early glimpse into the small adjustments that often determine the outcome of playoff games — or entire series. Given the Clippers’ experience and the Pelicans’ youth, one might expect those nuanced advantages would go in the Clippers’ favor.

But on this night, it was the Pelicans who did all the little things on the edges to make the ultimate difference. And none was more significant than Green’s bold decision to put McCollum on the bench and roll with the big-body lineup in the final three and a half minutes.

Green started a similar lineup earlier in the season while McCollum recovered from an ankle injury, with the currently sidelined Dyson Daniels in Murphy’s place and normal starter Jonas Valančiūnas in Nance’s spot. But throwing that five-man group out in a late-game situation — and sending McCollum, the team’s most experienced crunchtime performer but one who was struggling with his shot in this game and was a potential defensive liability against Leonard or George — was the type of fearless move the coach needs to be comfortable making in a playoff setting.

That’s especially key if these two teams meet again. While much of the attention will be attached to stars like Leonard and Williamson, the chess match between Green and Clippers coach Tyronn Lue looms large. Many of Lue’s peers consider him one of the top tactical minds in the NBA. He has a long track record of making adjustments to shift the momentum in the postseason, dating back to his time leading LeBron James’ Cavaliers. Lue will surely find ways to throw the kitchen sink at Williamson and whatever else the Pelicans try to do in a prolonged series.

Green’s response in those big moments will be essential. On Friday, he showed he’s capable of matching wits with one of the NBA’s top minds. And he did it by addressing one of his supposed shortcomings among his critics: a resistance to being flexible with lineups and his game plan. The lineup with Zion, surrounded by wings and Nance, gave Williamson the room he needed to operate, and he generated great looks for his team when it came time to put away the Clippers for good.

Pelicans possessions after going to the Zion-Herb-BI-Trey-Nance lineup with 3:33 left:
— Nance layup
— Trey missed 3
— Nance layup
— Zion makes 1 of 2 free throws
— Zion layup

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) March 16, 2024

The Pelicans’ late-game offense has driven their fans crazy all season. Before Friday’s win, the Pelicans were ranked 26th in offensive rating in clutch minutes. Instead of hoping things would change, Green pushed the right buttons to make sure they would.

“There are some times when you have to make uncomfortable decisions,” Green said. “I believe that’s where the most growth happens. It’s when you’re uncomfortable and you’ve got to do something that’s against the norm. Sometimes, that’s what the moment calls for.”

Of course, Williamson’s play on both ends of the floor can’t be overstated. He was the best player in this game by a wide margin, and it wasn’t just because of his dominant scoring in the paint.

In recent weeks, Williamson has taken on the challenge of being a more disruptive defender, which has been a game-changer for a Pels unit that already ranked in the top 10 of the league despite Williamson’s problems on that end earlier in the season. Against the Clippers, Williamson defended Leonard almost the entire night, consistently making life difficult for one of the best isolation scorers in the league. Though Leonard still managed to score 23 points, Williamson moved his feet, used his body and avoided fouls when matched up with the Clippers’ star.

Zion vs Kawhi 1v1 pic.twitter.com/GQv4rhRKMm

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) March 16, 2024

At one point late in the fourth quarter, Murphy offered to give Williamson a breather and take over the Leonard matchup for a few possessions. But Williamson refused. “Nah, I got him,” he told Murphy.

“That’s what you want out of your stars. You want them to take the challenge,” Murphy said. “He understands what time it is and what time of the season it is. If you want to win in the playoffs and you want to be a star in the playoffs, you have to play both sides of the ball.”

Williamson isn’t the only Pelicans star buying in on that end. Ingram has also made tremendous strides, focusing more on his defensive physicality and attention to detail as Williamson takes on more of a primary ballhandler role on offense.

But the most important figure for this team on defense continues to be Jones. He punctuated another banner night on that end midway through the third quarter with one of the most incredible plays one will see in an NBA game this season.

After the Pels gave up an offensive rebound in the lane, the ball found a wide-open George at the top of the key. As George went through his shooting motion, Jones sprinted from under the basket, stretched out with his long reach and swatted George’s 3-pointer before calmly tossing in a two-handed dunk on the other end.

HERB FREAKING JONES.

ALL-DEFENSE THIS MAN RIGHT NOW pic.twitter.com/aJLqNEMMvM

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 16, 2024

how it started vs. how it ended pic.twitter.com/d19aNDubB4

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 16, 2024

“(That) might have been the greatest defensive play I’ve seen Herb (make),” Williamson said.

“To have him on our squad is a true blessing,” Green added. “They don’t make a lot of guys like him.”

Talent has never been a question for this Pelicans team. As they showed again Friday, they possess one of the deepest rosters in the NBA.

But taking out a team like the Clippers requires mental focus, proper adjustments and complete buy-in from everyone defensively. Doing so in a March regular-season game is far different from doing it in April against a Clippers team with legitimate title aspirations. However, the Pelicans showed Friday that the gap between these teams may be smaller than it was a few months ago, if it exists at all.

The better the Pelicans get at adapting in big games like this, the more this potential playoff series feels like it’ll be must-see television.

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(Top photo of Zion Williamson: Layne Murdoch Jr. / NBAE via Getty Images)