NEW ORLEANS -- When an NBA coach like Alvin Gentry of the New Orleans Pelicans starts lecturing his post-millennial, Generation Z players in pre-game talks about the Alamo, it might be advisable to start taking a body count.

With three-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis headed toward season-ending knee and shoulder surgery, the Pelicans suited up just nine players Sunday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, and one of them, reserve center Alexis Ajinca, hadn't played in weeks due to a fractured sternum.

But in a result that should be considered cautionary brochure material for Gamblers Anonymous, the Pelicans got double-figure scoring from six players, including 22 from Jrue Holiday, to upset the playoff-bound Clippers 109-105 at the Smoothie King Center.

"It was just that a lot of people were going to have to step up again," said Holiday, who had eight assists and scored six points in the final four minutes to make up for the absence of Davis and forward Ryan Anderson, who missed the game with a double groin strain. "It's just like coach said, 'It's like the Alamo,' even though I'm not even sure who won there. They might have 14 healthy guys, but as long as we have five guys on the court, ready to play, we always give ourselves a chance to win."

For the record, the Mexicans won the Battle of the Alamo against a small but courageous band of Texans but eventually lost the war. That's a history lesson Gentry would like to repeat.

"We don't ever talk about the guys that are not there, we talk about the guys that are there," Gentry said. "We talked about just walking out on the floor and competing at the very highest level that we can."

Gentry reiterated the decision to shut down Davis, the Pelicans' leading scorer and rebounder, who needs surgery to repair his left knee and a torn left labrum, was an easy one to make.

"First of all, it was the protect him," Gentry said. "Secondly, it was for the betterment of the franchise. This gives him an opportunity to get everything corrected and then really to be ready for training camp next year and be fully healthy."

The Pelicans led 102-88 with 2:18 left when Holiday drove to the basket and hit a scoop shot. But the Clippers went on a 17-4 run -- highlighted by 3-pointers from J.J. Redick, Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford -- to draw within 106-105 with 15 seconds left.

Luke Babbitt made a pair of foul shots for the Pelicans, making it 108-105, then Clippers guard Austin Rivers missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the left wing with one second remaining.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers, whose team has lost four of five, said Los Angeles was done in by a 16-point third quarter in which it made just four of 18 shots (22.2 percent). For the game, the Clippers made just 10 of 39 3-point attempts (25.6 percent).

"We just couldn't make a shot," said Rivers, whose team was playing in a rare back-to-back road game, with the second-game tipoff coming just 22 hours after the previous night's game. "We played pretty good D, but I thought we settled a lot tonight. In the third quarter I said, 'You guys, we played last night and we are getting open shots, we're getting threes. (But) can we please drive the basketball?'"

Every Pelicans starter scored in double figures. In addition to Holiday, the Pelicans were also led by Dante Cunningham (19 points), Tim Frazier (17), Omer Asik (15), Toney Douglas (14) and Babbitt (12). Asik also added 14 rebounds.

The Clippers (43-26) were led by Paul and Redick, who scored 24 points each. Paul said his team couldn't blame the loss on fatigue.

"There are no excuses," Paul said. "At the end of the day, (the media) have been harping about how good we've been in back-to-backs. How are we going to say it was fatigue tonight? We lost, no excuses. We didn't defend well enough. We waited too long to put our footprint on the game."

The Pelicans have had trouble outrebounding opponents, but they beat the Clippers 54-35 on the boards and held a 16-4 edge in second-chance points. The Pelicans also made 32 of 40 free throws, which compensated for 23 turnovers, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Clippers coach Doc Rivers commiserated with New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry for having to endure an injury-plagued season. Gentry's latest complication was having to shelve PF Anthony Davis for the final 14 games of the season. Davis will have surgery for knee and shoulder injuries. "(Davis) probably could play, obviously, but you've got to look for his future," Rivers said. "It's been an awful year for injuries. I don't know if I've seen one team go through injuries like this through the year." ... Rivers still was hot over what he called a lack of effort by the Clippers in a 113-102 road loss at Memphis on Saturday. "It always matters to me how we play," Rivers said. "When we don't perform well because we don't have the focus, then I'm not happy." ... The Pelicans used their 34th different starting lineup this season.