The Golden State Warriors were in the Big Easy to face the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs, Round 1. The Warriors took a 2-0 series lead into the contest.
Golden State was without David Lee, who was still recovering from a strained back.
1ST QUARTER: Hot Shooting Cools Off
Both teams got off to a sizzling start, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson hit threes while the Pelicans hit twos, to cause some early separation.
Still, New Orleans played well, with Anthony Davis scoring on a spin and fade, then a face-up swish, both over Draymond Green, plus a jumper up top after Omer Asik gave him a hand-off and a screen.
Eric Gordon added a three-pointer from the top via a short pass from Davis, but then Gordon and Davis started missing, while Thompson started to get hot.
But the Warriors answered as Curry found Klay in the right corner with a short pass, good for a catch-and-shoot trey by Thompson. Klay returned the favor shortly thereafter, dishing off to Steph for a catch-pivot-shoot trey from the right wing after Thompson got stopped on several jabs against Gordon.
Curry hit another one right after that, as Gordon’s long two went off rim, Harrison Barnes got the rebound, pushed the ball, and found Steph for another triple from the right elbow over Omer Asik in the early offense.
It wasn’t until an 8-0 run with 7:18 left in the first frame when the Warriors took their first sizeable margin, with Barnes dribbling and popping over Tyreke Evans, Thompson drilling a triple from the right side after Asik’s putback was disrupted by Andrew Bogut, then another three on a catch from Green — after Green got a rebound of another Gordon missed triple — from the deep right elbow, about 28 feet from the rim.
That gave the Warriors a 17-9 lead with 7:42 to go in the first quarter.
But out of the timeout, Green missed a running right hook and Bogut’s rebound was passed over to Curry in the left corner, whose long two went in-and-out. On the other end, Davis posted up Draymond on the high post and drew a foul, although replays showed Green had the proper verticality on the contact.
It was Green’s second personal foul and he had to take a seat on the bench.
That’s when the momentum shifted and the Pelicans made a run. Davis got a jumper over Bogut from the right side, facilitated by Gordon’s penetration.
Curry answered with a beautiful dissection of the New Orleans defense, getting into the paint with a righty finger roll, yet on the left side of the rim, but that would be the only bright spot for Golden State.
On the next offensive possession, Steph and Bogut played pick-and-roll, but Curry’s pass back to Bogut in the lane went way behind the big man, and Evans got a run-out dunk.
After a Bogut righty spin move over Ryan Anderson went off board too hard, Evans took the rebound and burst upcourt, past Barnes for the layup, and-one.
Festus Ezeli checked in for Bogut, but Norris Cole added a triple from the top right, then after Ezeli shaded over into the paint to show help while Jrue Holiday did a shake-and-bake from the perimeter and missed a jumper, Davis was left wide open to slam home the putback with one hand.
Leandro Barbosa, who had checked in for Thompson, then tried to go behind-the-back crossover on Evans, but Tyreke picked him clean and got another run-out dunk.
Just like that, the Warriors’ lead evaporated and the Pelicans were down just one, 25-24, with 1:28 to go.
Curry bricked a three-pointer with 47 seconds left, but Cole missed an answer-back trey from the top as well at the end of the quarter, and the Pelicans took a 26-25 lead into the second frame.
Davis led all scorers with 11 points on 5-for-8 field, with Evans chipping in 7 points on 3 steals, while Curry had 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting, 2-for-4 downtown, and Thompson added 9 points on 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
2ND QUARTER: Warriors Go Ice Cold
The second frame started off with a dunk from Anderson, portending a tenuous quarter. With Curry sitting after playing all 12 minutes of the first quarter, Shaun Livingston missed a pull up jumper, Klay missed a three-pointer, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout after Holiday answered with a dribble pull up jumper from the right side to make it 35-25, Pelicans, with 10:11 to go in the half.
Golden State had missed eight straight shots.
Things didn’t get any better after the timeout, with a Green lob pass getting deflected by Davis, leading to a jumper from the right side by Dante Cunningham, once again a sign of tougher times to come.
Marreese Speights came in, but had a tough outing as he got a reverse backdoor cut blocked, and after Cole made a reverse layup going strong down the left side, New Orleans took a 39-25 lead with 9:27 to play, thanks to a 19-0 run.
Anderson got hot, though, draining a trey from the left wing over Green, a long two after catching and facing Draymond, a strong post move into the lane against Barnes on a left block post, and another one on a catch in the left post against Barnes again.
The Warriors countered with a nice two-hand dunk from a side-out inbound down the lane for Draymond, a Speights righty hook after getting a good deep step into the lane against Anderson, and a beautiful scoop beneath the backboard by Curry as he got through the perimeter thanks to a pick-and-roll with Green, but New Orleans maintained a double-digit lead even as Curry buried two of three free throws after being fouled on a shot from downtown by Anderson.
It was 48-38, Pelicans, with 5:54 to play.
Davis got a touchdown two-handed slam after Draymond back-rimmed a three-pointer, leading to a New Orleans break, Davis added another jumper swish assisted by an Evans early offense push, after Klay drove in and couldn’t draw a foul, much to his frustration.
Then Thompson got picked from behind on a drive past Gordon. Klay swung his fist in the air in disgust of the no-call, but by then, Cole converted a run-out layup over Steph on a 3-on-1 fast break for the Pelicans, who took a 54-38 lead with 4:11 left.
Thompson fought through the adversity, however, getting a three-pointer from the top as he and Curry played a virtual two-man game on the right side of the floor, with Steph passing up to the top from the right low block. Klay then was able to get in the paint against Cole, pivoted, and got a jumper to fall, then a trey from the right side with 43 seconds to play as Andre Iguodala pushed the ball after Davis missed a spin-hook.
But prior to that, Evans made a couple of clutch buckets, including a trey with the shotclock about to expire and a left side jump-stop banker over a smothering Thompson.
The half ended with Cole getting a bucket against Draymond, answered by a lefty putback tip-in by Bogut of a Curry missed scoop (4-for-10 from the field).
The punches and counter-punches to close out the half had the Pelicans taking a 63-52 lead into the break.
Davis led all scorers with 15, Cole added 14 off the bench, and Evans had 14 as well, pushing the ball and getting run-out buckets. Anderson added 11 points and a +23 off the bench. The Pelicans shot 59.6% from the field.
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