SAN FRANCISCO – In essence, neither team came away overly pleased after Saturday’s Game 1 of the Pelicans-Warriors series: Golden State forward Draymond Green graded his club’s performance to the San Francisco Chronicle as a “B-minus or C-plus,” while New Orleans players rued a shaky first-half showing that put them in a huge hole they ultimately couldn’t erase.
Despite 20 fourth-quarter points from Anthony Davis alone and a 33-22 late-game surge by the Pelicans, it came too late to get any closer than four points of the lead vs. the Western Conference’s top-seeded team. Although New Orleans was encouraged by the drastic Game 1 turnaround, the Pelicans know that without playing a much more complete game, it will be difficult to win Monday at Oracle Arena, where they’re 0-3 in 2014-15.
“We’re confident (based on Saturday’s second half), but you can only go so far with that,” cautioned Pelicans Coach Monty Williams, who had three starters making their NBA playoff debut in the 106-99 loss. “We didn’t win the game. We have a little bit of momentum based on our guys settling down with nerves and new experience, but at the same time, we’ve got to play a lot better.”
“We don’t believe in moral victories, but what we did in the second half definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow night,” Davis said. “We believe we can beat this team – there’s no doubt in our mind that we can. We’ve just got to come out and play the first half like we played the second half.”
Leading into Game 2, Williams said the Pelicans would work on improving in several areas to try to better combat the Warriors. Golden State is the NBA’s fastest-paced team and ranked No. 2 in offensive efficiency, so they pose an array of problems, but New Orleans made it easier on the hosts with several defensive lapses, including a few incorrect switches. The Warriors also led fast-break points 11-4 in the first half, a chunk of their 59-41 lead.
“Our defense with pick-and-roll at certain times wasn’t great,” Williams said. “Transition at the start of the game was bad. Offensively, we didn’t start moving the ball with any kind of purpose until the second half. We didn’t play consistently in any area for the duration of the game. So we have to get better.”
Davis’ initial playoff experience mirrored that of his team’s, with a slow start followed by an impressive close. The 22-year-old was 4-for-9 in the first half and committed three turnovers, but shot 9-for-14 after intermission (in slightly fewer minutes) and racked up 24 points. His second half may have been an even more productive if not for a fourth personal foul that forced him to the bench in the third quarter.
“I wasn’t aggressive in the first half,” Davis said. “In the third quarter, I got in foul trouble, so I really couldn’t play and I was kind of pissed that I couldn’t play. I just told myself when I get back in the game I’m going to be aggressive and try to come back. We’ve seen things happen before. Just because they’re up 20 doesn’t mean they’re winning the game, especially in the playoffs. That was our mindset as a team, and we almost came back and won.”
Williams gave the Warriors’ defense credit – it’s No. 1 in the league in efficiency – for slowing Davis for much of the first three quarters.
“It’s not like he’s playing against the Brothers of Tranquility,” Williams said of the level of competition. “They’re trying to take him out. Draymond and (Andrew) Bogut are really good defenders.”
Davis: “They were doing a good job of loading up, so wherever I went, left or right, there was a guy sitting there. It’s tough to play against that. We just have to make adjustments.”
The Pelicans already made a few Saturday, contributing to Davis breaking out in the fourth quarter. The versatile offensive threat was the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer during the regular season partly because of his ability to hurt a defense in multiple ways. With more room to operate and the Pelicans getting more stops at the other end, Davis was 7-for-10 from the field in the fourth period and 6-for-6 from the foul line.
“He started figuring out a few things,” Williams said of Davis. “He knocked down some tough shots. And then I tried to put him in a different position. I did a bad job of spacing the floor for him (in the first half), and giving him options where he could attack better. But I still think our defensive effort hurt him on offense. I think if we play better D, he’ll be in transition more and space, instead of being in a crowd.”