PREVIEW: Warriors (63-14) Finally Face A Healthy New Orleans Pelicans (41-35) Squad

Golden State Warriors (63-14) at New Orleans Pelicans (41-35)

Tip-off: Tuesday, April 7th, 2015 – 5:00PM PDT

Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA

TV: CSN Bay Area | Radio: KNBR 1050 AM

Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive

Projected Starting Lineups:

Warriors

PG: Stephen Curry (23.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.7 APG)

SG: Klay Thompson (21.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.0 APG)

SF: Harrison Barnes (10.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.4 APG)

PF: Draymond Green (11.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.7 APG)

C: Andrew Bogut (6.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.7 APG)

Head Coach: Steve Kerr (63-14, .818)

Pelicans

PG: Eric Gordon (13.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.9 APG)

SG: Tyreke Evans (16.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 6.6 APG)

SF: Quincy Pondexter (9.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.5 APG)

PF: Anthony Davis (24.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.1 APG)

C: Omer Asik (7.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 0.9 APG)

Head Coach: Monty Williams (169-219, .436)

Last Times Out

LAST WARRIORS GAME: On Sunday, 4/5/2015, the Spurs defeated the Warriors, 107-92, as San Antonio dominated Golden State, led by Kawhi Leonard, who scored 26 points and tallied 7 steals.

LAST PELICANS GAME: On Saturday, 4/4/2015, the Trail Blazers defeated the Pelicans, 99-90, in Portland.

LAST WARRIORS-PELICANS MATCHUP: On 3/20/2015, Golden State defeated New Orleans, 112-96, as Barnes led the charge with 22 points. Asik and Ryan Anderson were injured.

LAST WARRIORS-PELICANS MATCHUP AT NEW ORLEANS: On 12/14/2014, Golden State defeated New Orleans, 128-122, as the Warriors’ championship-level defense bailed them out. Evans led the Pels with 34 points and Davis did not play.

Game Notes

• “Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he won’t rest anyone tonight vs. New Orleans. He’s focused on a bounce-back game after San Antonio loss.” — Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle

• “Steve Kerr said the Warriors had a “lousy effort” against the Spurs. “I don’t think we’ve played well for three games.” — Diamond Leung, Bay Area News Group

• “Warriors have won 10-straight games vs. Pelicans, their longest win streak against NOP & their longest active win streak vs. any opponent.” — Warriors PR

• “2 teams that win when they share,w/24 or more assists, the Warriors are 51-8, the Pelicans are 23-4.” — Tim Roye, Warriors radio broadcaster

• “since Jrue went down and Reke moved to PG: 16.6ppg, 7.8apg, 5.1rpg” — Sam Esfandiari, Warriors blogger

• “The New Orleans Pelicans were 3 1/2 games out of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot less than two weeks ago before a winning streak against non-postseason contenders helped improve their chances.
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  They’ll have to beat much tougher competition over the final six games to secure a playoff berth.
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  New Orleans looks to avoid an 11th consecutive loss to the visiting Golden State Warriors in a possible first-round preview Tuesday night.
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  The Pelicans (41-35) beat Sacramento twice, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Lakers before having their streak snapped with Saturday’s 99-90 loss to playoff-bound Portland.
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  They sit one-half game behind eighth-place Oklahoma City, which has dropped three straight and five of six. New Orleans holds the tiebreaker over the Thunder, who host San Antonio on Tuesday.
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  “Everyone wants to make the playoffs,” coach Monty Williams said. “We’d love to be at this point and already have a playoff spot clinched. In order to make it, you’re going to need some help. We can’t worry about that. We’ve got to focus on our business.”
  …
  “Our chemistry is the best it’s been in a while,” Gordon said. “We’ve honed in on what’s expected of us to make the playoffs. We still have a good chance, but we still have a tough road to get there and we know that.” — Jeff Bartl, AP/STATS