NEW ORLEANS – Stephen Curry erupted for a game-high 41 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. The Warriors cruised to a 123-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans tonight in the first of back-to-back games in New Orleans.
Golden State has now won nine of their last 13 games overall and are 2-1 on their current four-game road trip.
“We were really focused tonight with a great start,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “We took it to them early and set a tone and I thought that was a crucial part of the game.”
Curry’s 17 points in the first quarter allowed Golden State to jump out to a 39-19 lead. He finished with 21 points in the first half, where the Warriors built a 25-point lead. The Pelicans went on a 19-6 run to close out the second quarter trailing 66-54 at halftime.
“We’re just playing with confidence,” Curry said. “For us to come out like we did tonight in the first quarter and jumped on them and impose our will, it helped us maintain momentum throughout the game.”
In the third quarter, New Orleans clawed their way within six points after Willy Hermangomez’s short hook shot made the score 79-73 with five minutes left in the period. That was as close as the Pelicans would get the rest of the game.
Curry scored 15 of Golden State’s 29 points in the third quarter, punctuated by his 28-foot step-back three-pointer that gave the Warriors a 92-76 advantage.
The two-time MVP leads the NBA in third quarter scoring, averaging 10.9 points.
For the game, Curry shot 14-of-26 from the field, 8-of-18 from behind the three-point line to go along with eight assists. It was the ninth time this season that Curry scored 40-plus points (his sixth in his last 15 games). He leads the NBA with 10 games of eight or more three-pointers made.
Not to mention, it was the 16th time in his last 18 games that Curry scored 30-plus points. Draymond Green finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season and his 29th in his career. It was the 21st game this season that Green recorded 10-plus assists.
“I think we did a very good job at executing the game plan,” said Green. “I thought we had a couple of turnovers that we could take away. That’s a huge part of the game and not turning the ball over and letting teams get into transition.”
With tonight’s performance, the Warriors improved to 28-1 when Green records a triple-double.
Juan Toscano-Anderson had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Jordan Poole added 11 points off the bench for the 10th-seeded Warriors, who move four games ahead of 11th-placed New Orleans for a play-in spot in the Western Conference playoffs with seven games to go.
The two teams will meet up again tomorrow night at Smoothie King Center and on May 14th at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Early in the fourth quarter after Green and Curry went to the bench, the Warriors lead was 95-80. Wiggins scored the first 10 points for Golden State, he drilled two three-pointers and made a left-handed layup that gave the Warriors a 105-80 lead. That scoring spurt by Wiggins carried the Warriors through the game’s final minutes.
“It was very important,” Green said. “I actually said it to him before we left the huddle ‘hey man, take over the game right now.’ Because I knew if we could just hold onto the lead right there, the game is kind of over for that stretch. He went out there and attacked and got every shot he wanted.”
Golden State made 47 shots off 31 assists and forced 29 points off 17 turnovers committed by the Pelicans. The Warriors outscored New Orleans 23-14 on fast breaks.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 32 points and eight rebounds, while Brandon Ingram added 19 points.
Lonzo Ball scored a career-high 33 points and tied a personal best with eight three-pointers in the Pelicans 140-136 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. But was a no show tonight, Ball shot 3-of-18 from the field, including 1-of-9 from three-point territory.
New Orleans was ice cold on three-pointers, shooting a dreadful 5-of-25 from downtown. They did outrebound Golden State 47-38 and outscored the Warriors 60-54 in the paint.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
