Methods and devices for encoding a point cloud. A bit sequence signaling an occupancy pattern for sub-volumes of a volume is coded using binary entropy coding. Contexts may be based on neighbour configuration and a partial sequence of previously-coded bits of the bit sequence. A determination is made as to whether to apply a context reduction operation and, if so, the operation reduces the number of available contexts. Example context reduction operations include reducing neighbour configurations based on shielding by sub-volumes associated with previously-coded bits, special handling for empty neighbour configurations, and statistics-based context consolidation.