This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Game 4 of the Golden State Warriors at the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Warriors took a 67-54 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: Golden State Defense Constricts New Orleans
Anthony Davis got a turnaround jumper to start things off for the Pelicans, but Stephen Curry lasered a pass inside to a cutting Andrew Bogut for an easy bucket, which was answered by Eric Gordon, who continued his strong play with a catch-runner from 15 feet.
Curry then passed the ball behind Draymond Green at the top of the circle. The fastbreak ended with a lob that went a bit high to Davis and with Steph bothering him, Davis threw the ball back up top to reset. Gordon caught it, attacked from the top, and found Davis for the two-handed smash.
Bogut then turned the ball over again, with Tyreke Evans intercepting, but Green reached in as Evans streaked down court and tapped the ball off Tyreke’s leg. It was Warriors ball, side out, but head coach Steve Kerr didn’t like how things started for Golden State and called a timeout.
That seemed to clean up the Warriors’ play, as Green received a laser pass from Curry under the hoop, but got blocked by Davis. However, Golden State was locked in on defense, as Klay Thompson was draped all over Gordon, who missed a runner badly.
Shortly thereafter, Curry got a hand-off from Draymond at the top, dribbled, pivoted, and buried a triple, giving him 23 points and 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Omer Asik then got his running banker swatted by Bogut, which turned into a gorgeous overhead pass by Curry to Harrison Barnes under the rim. Barnes jammed it with two hands, but the Warriors weren’t done.
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Evans made a nice crossover at the top but was swarmed by Green and blocked by Bogut. Klay then took the next sequence against Davis isolated, crossed him over on the right elbow, going left-to-right, and drove the right baseline. Under the hoop, Thompson stopped, let two Pelicans fly by, and made the layup.
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New Orleans head coach Monty Williams called timeout with the Warriors taking a 76-60 lead with 8:01 to go in the quarter.
Golden State’s defense could smell blood and the focused defense continued. As the shotclock wound down for the Pelicans, Ryan Anderson missed a three-pointer from the top with Green draped all over him.
After Steph made two free throws upon getting fouled on a reverse layup try streaking down the right baseline, Anderson got disrupted again, this time by Bogut, his third blocked shot, but Davis ended the sequence with a spin against Bogut and drew Bogut’s fourth personal.
Kerr went small, inserting Andre Iguodala for Bogut.
Curry followed that up with a pretty scoop high off the backboard, getting pushed slightly before the layup with no call…
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…then after Evans missed an ill-advised three-pointer from the right elbow, Barnes led the break, crossed over right to left, went down the lane, and got hacked.
The Warriors continued their onslaught while the Pelicans continued to miss. Gordon missed a jumper, cooling off from his strong first half start, and with the shotclock down to 2, Barnes gave a swing pass to Klay from the deep right elbow, about 27 feet out, and Thompson drilled the catch-and-shoot to put Golden State up, 83-62, with 4:35 to go.
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Anderson then missed an up-and-under one-footed scoop shot from the left side, Green boarded the miss, led the break, and found Iguodala wide open running the left lane for a two-handed jam.
Williams called timeout and the Dubs were now up, 85-62, with 4:09 to play.
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After Davis got fouled by Draymond for two free throws and an airball by Klay on a turnaround from the right elbow, Jrue Holiday missed a jumper in the lane, Draymond once again rebounded, outlet to Shaun Livingston, who found himself switched onto by Davis.
Livingston took advantage of the mismatch Green had down low against Holiday and, with Norris Cole shading help, Barnes caught Cole not looking and charged toward the hoop, finishing with a two-hand dunk as Draymond found him easily. That gave Green 7 assists to go along with 20 points and 9 rebounds.
But Green picked up his fourth personal as he drove into the lane on Anderson and Davis, getting volleyball-swatted by Davis while hitting Anderson’s face with a bit of a clear-out elbow.
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Festus Ezeli checked in and closed out the quarter.
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The Warriors took a 88-67 lead into the final frame.
4TH QUARTER: Closing Out
Anderson had a strong performance in Game 3 and he continued his impressive play, getting a crossover right-to-left stop-and-pop trey from the right wing, then drawing a foul on Andre Iguodala in the post, then converting another post play as he received the ball on the left block, turned and faced Iguodala, and hit the jumper over him.
Kerr called timeout with 10:04 to play, up 88-76, as the Pelicans had gone on a 13-1 run since 2:30 remaining in the third period.
Leandro Barbosa was inserted and quickly got a bucket with an inside floater, a leaner in traffic, but New Orleans hung tough.
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Dante Cunningham got a putback of a missed three by Holiday, but Curry answered with a step-back swish from the deep right elbow.
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Bogut committed his fifth personal on a slap of a Cunningham drive, then Gordon went down the lane for a nice lefty layup high off the backboard. Later, Evans handed off to Davis and Davis hit the jumper. After that, Thompson’s fade-away over Evans fell short and Gordon made a jumper from a short pass by Tyreke, and the Pelicans had the lead trimmed to 95-85 with 6:00 remaining. Kerr called timeout.
Each team’s superstar kept their team afloat, as Curry came out of the timeout with an upfake on Davis, then hung for a jumper off one foot, then Klay drained an open jumper from the right baseline as two Pelicans shifted towards Steph on a catch from the same elbow.
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But Davis answered back with a catch, one dribble, and a fading swish from the right elbow over Bogut, to which Curry responded with a step-back trey from the right side over Davis.
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After an Evans charge into Bogut, the Warriors had a 101-89 lead with 3:15 remaining.
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On their last breath, the Pelicans wouldn’t go away, as Gordon got a dribble-and-pop triple from the top, giving him 29 points on the night. After Draymond missed a three-pointer that went in and out from the left wing, Davis spun into the lane from the top against Green and scooped the ball off glass past Bogut, to close the deficit to 101-94, Warriors, with just 1:50 to play.
But Green got an up-and-under reverse layup as Davis bit on the fake pass, and Williams called timeout with 1:32 left, the Pelicans down 103-94.
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With 1:17 to go, Cunningham brought New Orleans back to within 7 with a two-handed putback slam to make it 103-96, Warriors, but in typical Golden State fashion, Thompson drained a catch-and-shoot trey from the right elbow as Green made the initial attack, found Iguodala open on the left low baseline, who passed it Barnes in the right corner, who swung the ball to Klay for the nail in the coffin.
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That put the Warriors up, 106-96, with 1:01 left, and it was only a matter of time.
Davis got another spin play to drop, but on the inbound, Curry was fouled immediately by Gordon with 38.9 ticks left and Golden State sporting an 8-point lead. Draymond inbounded from the side and Gordon fouled Steph again. The two free throws brought the margin back up to 10.
Gordon then tried desperately to dribble to an open spot beyond the arc, but with the Warriors prepared for that, Evans got an open look at the top and bricked the trey. The Pelicans got the offensive board, Davis got the ball on the deep left wing, and airballed the three-pointer.
Curry was fouled again, made one of two free throws, and the deflated Pelicans shot another airball as Cole heaved a hapless launch from the right wing. Thompson corralled the airball and with 11 seconds remaining, dribbled out the clock.
The final score was 109-98, Warriors, a 4-game sweep of the Pelicans.
Curry led all scorers with 39 points on 11-for-20 shooting, 6-for-8 downtown, and 11-for-12 from the charity stripe, to go along with 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 turnovers.
Green tallied 22 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, while Thompson added 25 points on 10-for-19 field, 4-for-7 beyond the arc.
Davis led the Pelicans with 36 points, 14-for-20 field, and 11 rebounds, while Gordon added 29 points on 12-for-21 shooting.
Golden State will now await the winner of the Memphis-Portland series, which the Grizzlies lead 2-0, and play immediately following this game. Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals will start no earlier than Saturday, May 2nd, at Oracle Arena.
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