NEW ORLEANS -- Perspective is a wonderful thing. Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers believes his team is stronger and wiser than in previous seasons and should prove that on the road, so he called splitting a six-game road trip "average."

But by dispatching the New Orleans Pelicans 114-96 on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center, the Clippers (16-5) won their second road game in two nights and turned a potentially disastrous trip -- after dropping three of their first four -- into a job well done.

"It was average, it was OK," Rivers said after Blake Griffin overcame a chilly offensive start to score 13 of his game-high 27 points in the decisive, 29-19 third quarter and guard Chris Paul, with 17 points and 13 assists, finished two rebounds shy of a triple double.

"Obviously, we won three games, we went .500," Rivers added. "In years past, that's probably good, but it's not good enough. It could have been an awful trip, but then we turned it into a pretty good trip. We think we're better than that. I think we're better than that. We're asking a lot, but if you want to be special, you have to ask a lot of them."

Even more impressive than the victory Friday night was the 113-94 win over the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers the night before. Rivers said the Clippers' defense was the difference.

After New Orleans jumped out to a 30-25 first quarter lead behind Anthony Davis' eight points, Los Angeles held the Pelicans to 66 points in the final three quarters.

Griffin missed six of his first eight shots but wound up 12 of 22 from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds. Reserve guard Jamal Crawford added 21 points. Paul's last two assists came on back-to-back possessions that ended with wide-open 3-pointers by Crawford and Luc Mbah a Moute that put the Clippers up 104-90.

"We'll take it," Paul said. "We started off 1-3 (on the road trip) with our last two games in Cleveland and then here (on the end) of a back-to-back. I'm glad how we closed out the trip."

The Pelicans (7-13), who had won their last five home games, were hampered when Anthony Davis, the NBA's leading scorer, took a shot to the right shoulder late in the first quarter.

Although Davis returned, he looked to be in pain despite posting a team-high 21 points for New Orleans. No other Pelicans starter hit for double figures.

New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said it was clear Davis was limited in the second half.

"I thought they did a good job on him, playing two and sometimes three guys coming to get the ball out of his hands," Gentry said. "He also missed some shots that he's been making throughout the season."

Griffin continued his torrid shooting during the third quarter, in which the Clippers extended their lead to 89-76. Griffin scored 13 of the Clippers' 29 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Los Angeles led by as many as 15, 85-70. Los Angeles shot 65 percent from the field in the quarter.

"You always want to out pressure on teams," Griffin said about his outside shooting. "We feel like we took this road trip off a little bit and gave away a couple of games, not taking anything away from Philly or Brooklyn. They played hard. But we've got to be better."

The Pelicans led 30-25 at the end of the first quarter behind Davis' eight points and three rebounds, but the NBA's leading scorer took a shot to his right shoulder late in the period. Although Davis played through the pain for the remainder of the quarter, he went to the locker room between periods, and the Pelicans announced he was questionable to return.

Davis, however, did return, emerging from the tunnel with 2:57 left in the second quarter. By that time, the Pelicans' eight-point lead had turned into a seven-point deficit, but Davis hit three free throws to whittle the deficit to 60-57 at the half.

"We were living with Blake and Mbah a Moute making jumpers, and they made them," Davis said. "That was our game plan, and when we closed out on the shots, they made plays."

NOTES: Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry attributed his team's improved play to better ball movement and defense. "We've come up with stops, and we've been able to get out and run and come up with easy baskets," Gentry said. "We've been pretty solid defensively over the last two or three weeks." ... The Pelicans rank second in the NBA (behind the Warriors) with three 30-assist games. "And we've had a bunch of 28- and 29-assist games," Gentry said. ... With Los Angeles playing the final game of a six-game road trip, Clippers coach Doc Rivers gave SG J.J. Redick the night off after he led the Clippers with 23 points in a 113-94 road victory over the Cavaliers Thursday night. ... Asked if Pelicans F Anthony Davis reminded him of anyone, Rivers said: "He's one of those guys who's good enough that someone's going to remind you of him -- I don't know if he's going to remind you of anybody. That's a good compliment. Tell him I said that."