Oakland, CA- The New Orleans Pelicans traveled to face the Golden St Warriors in-game 1 of the Conference semi-finals. The Pels feeling good coming in riding a 9 game winning streak looking to steal the first game away from a Curry-less Golden State team.
New Orleans was very competitive in the first quarter playing good defense making shots & keeping the scoring close. The game was turned on its head in the 2nd quarter when Golden State exploded for 41 points while holding New Orleans to just 21.
The second half didn’t look any better for New Orleans as they were held to 19 points in the 3rd period while allowing the Warriors to score 27. Golden State at one point in the game was up by as much as 30 points on the Pelicans and cruised to an easy 123-101 win.
Anthony Davis struggled to find his form as the Warriors defense swarmed him anytime he was near the post. Davis finished with a pedestrian 21 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes on 9-20 field goal shooting. New Orleans combo guard Jrue Holiday whose been absolutely unbelievable in the playoffs struggled to get his shot off against Golden State.
Holiday finished with a dismal 11 points and 4 assists on 4-14 field goal shooting in 31 minutes of action. The Pelicans hustle & glue guy Nikola Mirotic also struggled mightily tonight scoring only 9 points with 8 rebounds.
The Warriors defense but more importantly their offense was supreme leading this team to the win. New Orleans shot 44% from the field verses Golden States 48%. New Orleans shot 32% from downtown while Golden State put up 32% from deep.
The Pelicans were totally inept defensively in this game and loss every stat that means anything crucial to winning. The outstanding stat was totally ridiculous and hideous was the disparity of attempts on the charity strip.
The zebra’s allowed Golden State to visit the charity stripe 32 times converting 24 versus New Orleans’s 11 times in which they converted 9. The referees must certainly did give a hell of a lot home cooking to the Warriors.
New Orleans Scoring Leaders
-Anthony Davis 21 points 10 rebounds
-Etwaun Moore 15 points
-Jordan Crawford 14 points
-Jrue Holiday 11 points
The Golden State Warriors top scorers were guard Klay Thompson with 27 points and forward Kevin Durant posting 26 points with 13 rebounds.
The Preview
The Pelicans have to forget this game, gather themselves and prepare for all-star guard Steph Curry who will return for game 2. New Orleans gets its winning streak snapped but this team is very tough mentally strong.
I anticipate the Pelicans coming back at Golden St with a more intense performance in-game two because they realize all they need to steal home court is one victory in Golden State’s building (easier said then done).
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