ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — The New Orleans Pelicans traveled, a day after a 2-point loss at Phoenix, to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors. NBA Most Valuable Player candidate Anthony Davis had sprained his left ankle during morning shootaround in Phoenix and missed the game against the Suns and was ruled out for tonight.
Also out for the Pelicans were point guard Jrue Holiday (stress reaction in lower right leg), center Omer Asik (right calf strain), and power forward Ryan Anderson (MCL sprain, right knee).
The Warriors were without shooting guard Klay Thompson, sitting out his second straight game due to a right ankle sprain, although head coach Steve Kerr indicated that Thompson would be re-evaluated on Sunday.
Center Ognjen Kuzmic was on assignment in Santa Cruz.
1ST QUARTER: Very Few Sparks Until Mo’s Buzzer-Beater
The game got off to a sluggish start, although Draymond Green provided the usual energy, getting the slip on the first possession of the game, receiving the pass from up top by Andrew Bogut, and getting the goaltending call on Dante Cunningham.
Green then went coast-to-coast after a jumper by Alexis Ajinca went too hard off back iron and absorbed contact in the paint off the dribble from Cunningham for a floater that went through.
But the next time down the floor, Green drove hard again, got a lot of contact at the rim that wasn’t called, and after the Warriors got called for a shooting foul on the ensuing possession, had an extra long discussion with referee Derek Richardson.
Quincy Pondexter hit his first couple of treys, from the left elbow and the left corner, then Eric Gordon drilled a catch-and-shoot triple from the top, but Stephen Curry answered right back with a pull-up in transition to make it 12-10 early, Pelicans up, with 8:49 to go in the first frame.
The big men got into it as Ajinca dropped a turnaround in the paint, Bogut answered with a cut to the hole and delivery of the ball by Curry, with the foul on Ajinca, but the lanky Pelicans center came back with long-stepped right hook fadeaway that surprised everyone in the building when it went through.
Then it was Harrison Barnes‘ turn, draining a catch-and-shoot from the left elbow, then getting fouled on a Jordanesque double-clutch reverse layup from the left baseline. Barnes then drove hard on Pondexter from the top, going right-handed, then spinning to his left for the left-handed scoop.
After that, Barnes took a loose ball away from Pelicans backup center Jeff Withey, but the run-out lefty layup was blocked cleanly by Cunningham, who chased him down.
Curry and Bogut then connected on a looping, “flea-flicker”-like alley-oop.
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Andre Iguodala, to a rousing applause, and Marreese Speights entered the game at the 3:34 mark and Iguodala was aggressive again, getting slapped on a dunk attempt by Cunningham.
Meanwhile, Curry was having a hard time finding the bottom of the net, as he ended up 1-for-9 in the first quarter, whether it was clanging back iron or rolling in and out.
But Speights hit his first jumper, thanks to a reverse drop pass by Leandro Barbosa, and Barbosa got a hanging runner to trickle in, plus the harm.
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Barbosa’s and-one free throw made it 27-24 with 13.2 seconds remaining. After an interior bucket by Withey fed by Norris Cole, Barbosa took the final possession upcourt, found Speights at the last second. Speights then converted a three from the right elbow before the buzzer sounded.
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The Warriors took a 30-26 lead after the first quarter. Pondexter led all scorers with 8 points and Barnes and Bogut had 6 apiece.
2ND QUARTER: Barnes With Hard-Earned Buckets
David Lee got the call to start the second period and he didn’t disappoint, doing a good job closing out (!) on a missed Pondexter three-pointer, then following that up on the offensive end with a two-handed slam in traffic as Speights fed Shaun Livingston from the high pinch and Livingston found Lee cutting.
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Lee then played high-low with Barbosa and eventually got a jumper over Luke Babbitt after a re-entry. Lee would later also draw a charge on Tyreke Evans.
At the eight-minute mark, Kerr inserted Festus Ezeli and after giving up a layup to Pondexter and missing a bunny with the ball bouncing twice on the rim before going out, Ezeli finally had his energy convert into points as he putback a Livingston layup that went too hard, with both hands for a ferocious dunk.
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That put Golden State up, 43-34, with 5:47 to play in the half.
With 3:34 left, Curry and Green checked back in, but there would be no splashes or coast-to-coast attacks to get the arena into #Roaracle mode.
Instead, Barnes supplied a few deliberate buckets, including one in which he caught the swing pass from Green, gave an up-fake, then stepped over and back — enough to be behind the arc — for a three-pointer.
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Barnes added an and-one on Cunningham to stretch the lead to 50-42 with 36.0 seconds remaining, then after Cunningham missed an ill-advised jumper on the Pelicans’ last possession, which Bogut rebounded, Barnes took two long dribbles down the right side of the lane and converted again over Cunningham.
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Despite the lack of splashes, Golden State took a 53-42 lead into halftime.
Meanwhile, Curry didn’t take a shot in the second frame and ended the half with just 4 points on 1-for-9 field, 0-for-4 downtown, but 5 assists. Barnes, of course, led the way with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while Barbosa chipped in 8 points. Pondexter led New Orleans with 12 points while Ajinca added 8 points and 5 rebounds. Withey was effective on the offensive glass, totally 7 points and 4 rebounds.
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