The Golden State Warriors were in the Bayou again for Game 4 of their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the New Orleans Pelicans, which the Warriors lead, 3-0.
David Lee participated in 3-on-3 earlier in the day and was cleared to play, but it was reported that he would only appear in an emergency backup role.
Jrue Holiday, who has been suffering from leg soreness, was listed as a game-time decision for the Pelicans.
James Michael McAdoo, who stayed in the Bay Area due to flu-like symptoms, was assigned to Santa Cruz for Game 2 of their Finals series in the D-League, as was Ognjen Kuzmic.
1ST QUARTER: Steph And Draymond vs Davis
Once again, the Pelicans got off to a good start, as they made four straight buckets early on, with Anthony Davis making a jumper up top, Eric Gordon draining a hand-off from Davis at the top again, Gordon luckily hitting a banker from the top yet again with Stephen Curry all over his backside, and Omer Asik getting an and-one on the right baseline block against Andrew Bogut
But the Warriors were, for the most part, on-point as well, especially Curry and Draymond Green. The two connected with a pass from Curry on the dribble to Green underneath for the Warriors’ first basket, Green rained a trey from the right elbow on a catch-and-one-dribble by Steph after a pass from Draymond from the same wing, and Green got a bucket inside after Curry screened and forced a switch with Quincy Pondexter.
Steph and Green got two more treys in a row, and the Warriors were up early, 13-9, with 7:06 to go in the opening quarter.
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Both teams were clicking, and after Davis made a spin towards the left side of the lane from the high post on Green, drilling the jumper, Curry came back quickly with a left-handed penetration in the lane and made a 360-degree spin in midstride to fool Davis for the layup.
Davis answered back, though, with a more crucial blow, missing a short jumper against Bogut, but getting the offensive rebound and drawing Bogut’s second personal. Festus Ezeli checked in and Davis closed the Golden State gap to 15-13 with 5:27 remaining.
Later, Curry got a layup on a cut down the right side as he played hot potato with Draymond, laying the ball in right upon the catch, which was delivered by a Green touch pass after an entry pass into Draymond down on the left block.
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But Davis kept New Orleans close, drawing an and-one on Ezeli, who didn’t have the lateral speed to keep up with Davis as he drove hard down the left side on an iso with the shotclock winding down.
Ezeli then traveled on a catch, then missed two free throws after drawing a foul inside, but the Warriors still held a 23-22 lead with 2:15 to play.
Curry and Green made their imprint on the game one last time before the buzzer. First, Steph picked Norris Cole and drew a foul on Cole on the ensuing break, canning both free throws.
Then Curry drained a catch-and-shoot three, assisted by Draymond, after Ezeli disrupted Davis at the rim.
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And with 4.6 seconds left, Green splashed a trey from the top on a catch-and-shoot, assisted by Curry.
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The Warriors took a 31-24 lead over the Pelicans, heading into the second stanza.
Green led the Warriors with 14 points, while Curry added 13. Davis led the Pelicans with 11.
2ND QUARTER: Iguodala, Curry, And Green Lead The Charge
The bench unit started the second period and Leandro Barbosa got off to the usual hot start with a lefty layup, then after Marreese Speights rebounded a Cole missed three from up top, Barbosa received a hand-off from Speights from the top and went down the lane for a pretty layup.
Golden State took a 35-26 lead with 10:52 to go in the half.
The Warriors kept the momentum and the buffer going, as Andre Iguodala pushed the rock upcourt an inbound after a bucket inside by Ryan Anderson and flew in for the reverse right-to-left banker.
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Anderson had a nice three-pointer from the right, letting Shaun Livingston fly by, but Harrison Barnes stole a lob pass to Davis inside, Iguodala led the break, and found Barnes underneath with a jump pass delivered skillfully with the left hand, giving the Warriors a 39-31 lead with 8:05 to play.
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Davis got a nice right banker, but Iguodala answered back, getting past Davis off the bounce and drawing two fouls, sinking both free throws.
Green then got a nice bucket inside assisted by Livingston and Pelicans head coach Monty Williams called timeout with 7:10 remaining with Golden State up, 43-33.
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Curry checked back in and, after Davis drained another jumper from the left baseline over Bogut, splashed a triple from the right wing on a catch from Green, but Gordon got a trey back with New Orleans’ shot clock running low.
Klay Thompson, who had made just one bucket up until this point…
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…then went with the left-handed bounce in the lane, attacking Tyreke Evans, and got the banker to fall, and one. His free throw gave the Warriors a 49-42 lead with 5:10 left.
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Golden State added a Draymond layup as Livingston led the break after Davis missed a jumper, then after a Gordon stop-and-pop, Thompson dribbled in against the taller Davis, drew the contact and made the running banker to go up, 54-44, with 3:31 remaining.
But Gordon answered the call again, dissecting the Warriors’ defense and drawing a foul on Bogut, his third personal, as the scoop converted.
Then in a broken play that personified the Warriors style of play, Ezeli missed a bucket inside, Green got the offensive rebound against Davis, only to get blocked by him, but the ball squirted out to Curry at the top and he lasered a pass to an awaiting Klay in the left corner, good for three.
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Gordon kept the Pelicans afloat, up-faking Curry and drilling the jumper as Steph was called for the foul. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called a timeout, up 60-50, with 1:45 remaining.
Out of the timeout, Livingston’s pass to Thompson in the corner went astray, and Evans cut through the lane for a Euro-step layup, his first bucket of the night.
Curry made a nice pass to a cutting Barnes, who missed the reverse, but Draymond was there again for the putback, giving him 20 points on the night with 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Davis made the ensuing baseline jumper from the right, facilitated by Gordon’s dribble drive, but with 7.5 seconds left, Steph pulled up over Anderson and splashed the triple and Golden State took a 67-54 lead over New Orleans at the half…
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Thompson blocked Evans’ scoop shot at the buzzer.
Along with Green’s 20 points on 8-for-10 field, Curry added 20 as well on 6-for-10 shooting and 5 assists. Gordon and Davis each had 19 points to lead the Pelicans.
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