There were too many things to look back upon, too many areas where New Orleans could’ve better executed, that it was virtually impossible for Pelicans players to concisely sum up how Golden State managed to overcome a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit and eventually win Game 3 in overtime, 123-119. Still, in a somber locker room Thursday as midnight approached, the Pelicans gave snapshots of some of the pivotal moments, sequences and plays that prevented New Orleans from posting what would’ve been a monumental victory. Instead of drawing to within 2-1 of the top-seeded Warriors in a Western Conference first-round matchup, the Pelicans now trail 3-0, facing a hole no NBA team has ever rallied from to win a series.
“We’ll watch the film and see more of what we did wrong, but you’ve got to come up with a win when you’re up that much,” said guard Norris Cole, who scored 16 points off the bench. “Or you can be down 3-0, like we are. We didn’t capitalize. We put ourselves in this position.”
Specifically, the Pelicans lamented the Warriors’ final possession of regulation, when Golden State was able to get off two Stephen Curry three-pointers, the second an improbable, off-balance launch from the left corner over Anthony Davis that swished. During the preceding timeout, New Orleans players were instructed to foul to prevent a three-point attempt, but were twice unable to grab Curry before he fired, or do likewise to Mo Speights when Speights pulled in a rebound after the first miss.
“On the Steph Curry (pair of trey attempts), if we could’ve fouled him…” forward Quincy Pondexter said. “We probably should’ve. It’s tough. Steph was in the shooting motion – there was no way to really get to him unless you wanted to foul him and (give him) three (foul) shots.”
After Speights pulled in his offensive board near the paint, two Pelicans players were within a couple feet of Speights, but neither could hack the Golden State reserve, which would’ve only given Speights two free throws. Instead, Speights found Curry in the corner for his game-tying three.
“We probably could’ve fouled there,” Pondexter said of the Speights rebound. “I contested (Curry’s initial miss) and saw the ball go (back toward the left side of the court). Somehow, Mo came up for the offensive rebound. It was just a terrible bounce, great play (by Curry). Bucket. I don’t know – I’ve got to watch (the play on film). We made some mistakes that we probably won’t be able to sleep about. It’s a terrible loss.”
Another play much-debated Thursday occurred with the Pelicans trailing 119-118 in overtime and 25 seconds remaining. New Orleans didn’t need a three-pointer, but Eric Gordon came off a Davis screen and fired a trey from the right wing that glanced off the right side of the rim. Although the Pelicans could’ve taken a two, Gordon had been very successful recently in nearly the exact same situation.
“I’ve made that shot all season,” said Gordon, who finished second in the NBA in three-point percentage (44.8). “I’ve made shots in the fourth quarter like that all season. It just didn’t go in.”
Gordon’s miss was part of New Orleans going a combined 11-for-27 from the field in the fourth quarter and overtime, which gave Golden State a window to erase what was an 89-69 deficit. The Pelicans only scored seven baskets in the fourth period, with just three assists, a sign that some of New Orleans’ crisp ball movement earlier had dried up at a key juncture.
“We gave ourselves a chance each of the three games we played. To lose this one at home is very tough, because we had the game under control,” Gordon said of the fourth period. “We let them back in the game. It seems like when things are tough, we don’t play the right way. That’s what we have to figure out. Just stick to the game plan. We had a good game plan throughout the whole game, we just didn’t do it in the fourth quarter.”
“We’ve got to execute down the stretch,” Pondexter said. “We didn’t do that.”
The Pelicans accepted the blame for the loss, but at the same time, there are few NBA teams that could have pulled off what the Warriors accomplished, one of the greatest fourth-quarter rallies in NBA playoff history, a 39-19 surge. New Orleans players gave credit to Golden State, one of the most dangerous quick-strike teams in the league due to the shooting exploits of Curry (40 points, 7-for-18 on treys) and Klay Thompson (28 points, 6-for-12 on treys). “They won 67 games this year,” Pondexter said. “It’s not a fluke. They’re good.”
“I’m shocked that we gave up that type of lead like that,” Cole said. “Obviously, (the Warriors are) explosive, but we still have to close that game out. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. We have to find a way to close it out and we didn’t.”