Jamal Crawford’s long 3-point shot attempt as time was running out hit the front of the rim and fell off and the Clippers were defeated by the New Orleans Pelicans 98-96 at New Orleans on Wednesday.

It was a stunning loss for the Clippers (50-22) on the first leg of a five-game road trip because they had previously defeated the Pelicans (31-40) three times – twice by 13 points and once by 32.

Equally stunning was that point guard Chris Paul missed all 12 of his field goal attempts. He finished with two points and 12 assists.

Crawford led the Clippers with 31 points. Blake Griffin scored 21 points and Matt Barnes had 14. DeAndre Jordan had eight points and 16 rebounds.

Anthony Morrow scored 27 points for New Orleans.

Next stop for the Clippers is Thursday at Dallas.