New Orleans, LA- The New Orleans Pelicans hosted the Golden State Warriors in The Smoothie King Center Friday night before a raucous crowd. The Warriors coming into the game up 2-0 on the Pelicans in the semi-conference finals round looking to make it 3-0.
The Pelicans knew they were in a must win situation with their backs up against the wall needing a win. The Pels came out with energy and effort determined to stop the Warriors at all cost. They did just that out scoring the Warriors 3 of 4 quarters in the game.
New Orleans led by as much as 26 points in the contest thanks in large part by the contributions of the Pels big three of Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday & Niko Mirotic. Davis was absolutely awesome posting 33 points 18 rebounds on 15-27 fg shooting in 40 minutes.
Jrue Holiday was spectacular as well showcasing lock down defense while throwing in 21 points 5 assists & 7 rebounds. Mirotic was sturdy also as his numbers reinforced what Davis & Holiday had, Niko added 16 points with 13 rebounds.
The floor general Rajon Rondo was on full display playing excellent defense while getting a double double in reverse finishing with 4 points 21 assists & 10 rebounds. Rondo barking commands all game even when he was on the bench making sure the Pels had no lapses.
The Pelicans reserves helped in a major capacity as former Golden St Warrior guard Ian Clark lit the Dub’s up with 18 off the bench. New Orleans did a terrific job defensively but more importantly they out shot Golden State from the three point line.
The referee’s weren’t a factor in this game as they still allowed the Golden St to go to the line 26 times converting on 21 of them. The Pels on the other hand only were given 12 attempts converting 9 of them.
The disparity didn’t matter as New Orleans took the game out of the officials & Golden St hands by knocking in 14-31 three-pointers against the Warriors who shot 9-31 from downtown. The Pels shot 50% from the field & 45% from downtown pushing past The Warriors 119-100.
New Orleans Top Scorers
-Anthony Davis 33 points 18 rebounds
-Jrue Holiday 21 points 7 rebounds
-Ian Clark 18 points
-Niko Mirotic 16 points 13 rebounds
-Etwaun Moore 13 points
The Golden State Warriors top scorers were Klay Thompson with 26 points followed by Kevin Durant’s 22 points & finally Steph Curry who had 19.
The Preview
New Orleans now only trails 1-2 and need to take advantage of being at home in game three Sunday afternoon to even the series. This was a blow out win for the Pelicans and showed the Warriors as well as the refs that they are as dominate as any team when they have their collective minds right.
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