ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs Round 1, New Orleans Pelicans at the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors took a 55-52 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: Back And Forth In A Nailbiter
Golden State relied on the #SplashBrothers for the comeback in the second quarter, and they also provided the offense at the start of the second half.
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Klay Thompson made two jumpers to start the half and, after Tyreke Evans missed a layup, Stephen Curry brought the ball up, probed the Pelicans’ perimeter, got a switch with Anthony Davis now guarding him, and found a seam down the left side going past Davis for a right-handed scoop.
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That gave the Warriors their largest lead, 61-53, and Pelicans head coach Monty Williams called timeout with 9:48 to go.
But the Pelicans this time closed the gap, even after Davis slipped on a dribble, Harrison Barnes got the steal, and got fouled on the run-out by Quincy Pondexter. Asik got a two-handed slam on the ensuing sequence, followed up by a Gordon left corner trey after Curry lost the ball trying to cross over Pondexter from the right elbow.
Kerr called timeout shortly thereafter, but after Bogut swatted a Gordon reverse layup, Davis got a short jumper over the outstretched arms of the shorter Thompson, then Andre Iguodala appeared to swat a reverse layup attempt by Evans on the left side of the glass, but referee Joey Crawford intervened from halfcourt and called a late whistle on Iguodala.
Evans made both free throws to Oracle chants of, “Ref you suck!”, and all of a sudden it was a tie ball game, 64-64, with 5:52 left in the third frame.
Curry scored two straight buckets, sneaking backdoor after several attempts to break free of the tight defense as Bogut held the ball at the high post, then catching-and-shooting a swish from the right baseline, assisted by Leandro Barbosa.
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But Steph then missed a lefty layup down the lane, Festus Ezeli, who had subbed in for Bogut, couldn’t catch the putback for the slam, and Evans was off to the races, creating a foul at the rim and bringing the Pelicans back to a 68-67 deficit with two free throws with 3:29 remaining.
Marreese Speights checked in and drew a questionable charge on Davis, Curry airballed a finger roll that went around Norris Cole‘s body, and Davis got a jumper to fall over both Iguodala and Green, giving New Orleans a 69-68 lead with 2:33 left.
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But it was the bench unit that bouyed the Warriors heading into the final frame, as Barbosa made a “hesi” at the top, then drove down the left lane and got a left-handed scoop to go in, then Speights swatted Evans on a running jumper, and on the ensuing sequence, drew a shooting foul on Dante Cunningham.
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After Davis went down the left side for a bankshot over Green, Speights and Evans traded misses to end the quarter. The game went into the fourth period tied, 71-71.
4TH QUARTER:
The Warriors pulled away a bit at the beginning of the final frame. Thompson got a one-handed dunk in early offense, showing a three-point attempt but bursting past Cunningham as he lunged out.
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Shaun Livingston attacked and found Green with a trailing trey, then went behind-the-back for a crossover after Gordon missed a jumper and Livingston pushed the ball once again.
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The crossover fooled Cole near the hoop and Livingston easily made the uncontested layup.
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Gordon then lost the ball on an attack in the paint and Green got the loose ball, led the break, and lobbed the ball to Iguodala for a two-handed tomahawk.
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That gave the Warriors an 81-73 lead with 8:53 to go, but the Pelicans would fight back.
Davis converted a spinning and-one layup over both Green and Speights, but it was only Draymond’s first personal foul.
Davis drew another foul on Green and, after Andrew Bogut missed a lefty bunny against Omer Asik, Cole missed a right corner trey, but Asik got the offensive board on the opposite side of the court and found Gordon on a cut for a layup to make it 81-79, Warriors, with 7:02 remaining.
Thompson then led the final push for the Warriors, getting a dribble-stop-fake jumper to fall, a curl-and-catch to swish assisted by Barnes, and a right corner trey to splash after Curry found Bogut inside, but Bogut passed the ball back out to Iguodala, and the ball went back around the horn to Steph then back the Klay for the catch-and shoot.
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Gordon, Davis, and Evans kept the Pelicans in the game, though, with a Euro-step by Evans closing the gap on a broken play after Klay deflected a pass, to 88-86 with 4:42 to go.
It was until a Green trailing drive assisted by Thompson after Davis missed badly, plus Cole slipping and losing the ball on a drive down the right lane, punished with a Klay jumper fed by Iguodala, when the Warriors got the separation they needed, 92-86, with 3:32 remaining.
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Anthony Davis took a tough shot from the right, followed by consecutive missed 3s by Klay then Steph. Iguodala blocked Tyreke on New Orleans next trip, and Steph tried to take on Cunningham 1-on-1 but the shot rimmed out. Bogut chased down the offensive board, and returned it to Curry up to who gave a little head shimmy to Davis before Kerr called time.
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Out of the timeout, Green missed a 3 from the left wing. Bogut rebounded again but forced a reset pass that was intercepted. Gordon launched a missed trey, leading to a Thompson drive to the left that he finished with a bank and a foul over Gordon to make it 95-86 with 1:32 to play.
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Gordon threw the ball away on a jump pass, then Steph found Bogut with an off-balance drop pass on a wild drive from left to right, making it 97-86 with 1:02 to play.
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Davis missed another wild shot attempt spinning down the lane, then Curry just missed a dagger 3 from the right side with 38 seconds left. Tyreke drew a foul with 23.9 to play and split to make it 97-87 Warriors, who held the ball on the final possession to take a 2-0 series lead.
Klay Thompson finished with a game-high 26 on 11/17 shooting, and Curry scored 22 of his own. Bogut added a game-best 14 rebounds, with Draymond Green putting up a strong 14 point, 12 rebound, 5 assist line. Off the bench, Leandro Barbosa added 12 points on 5/8 shooting while Mo Speights put up 5 points, 4 rebound and 2 blocks in 12 minutes.
For the Pelicans, Davis dropped in 26, including 8/8 on free throws, to go with 10 rebounds. Gordon hit five 3-pointers en route to 23 points and Tyreke Evans added 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
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