OAKLAND – New Orleans entered Thursday’s nationally-televised TNT game against red-hot Golden State with a substantial to-do list, one that partly included taking care of the ball, shooting well from the perimeter and slowing down the Warriors’ up-tempo attack. By game’s end, the Pelicans couldn’t check off many of those desired items.
In the opener of a difficult California-only three-game road trip, the Pelicans (8-9) committed 17 turnovers, were just 3-for-15 from three-point range and allowed the Warriors (16-2) to rack up 43 fast-break points. As a result, Golden State cruised to its 11th consecutive victory, equaling a franchise record.
Despite his team’s one-sided defeat, Anthony Davis was outstanding in the first TNT game of his NBA career, finishing with 30 points (14-for-19 shooting from the field), 15 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals.
New Orleans started quickly, taking a 28-22 lead after one quarter, but Golden State surged to a 31-12 edge in the second quarter and won the second half 59-45. The 90 points in the final three periods by the Warriors were more than enough to overtake a Pelicans offense that struggled aside from Davis, creating scant flow or open shots. The team’s second- through fourth-leading scorers this season combined to go 11-for-39 from the field.
“We talked about (stopping) transition yesterday and this morning, but that was all (Golden State) was doing, scoring in transition,” Davis said. “We kind of lost our men a couple times. It’s frustrating, but we’ve got to stay together and try to come out of this road trip 2-1. We weren’t moving the ball, sharing the ball. We started to just play on our own. That’s what (the Warriors) wanted us to do – to take bad shots and (create) long rebounds.”
“We didn’t move the ball,” Pelicans sixth man Ryan Anderson said of the game-turning second quarter. “When we move the ball, we play well. We didn’t. We need to take good shots, score the ball when we get in setup situations, rather than only in transition. We’re a great transition offensive team, but sometimes teams are going to gameplan for that and stop that.”
“We just drifted,” New Orleans Coach Monty Williams said of play after the first quarter. “We did not play the team basketball that we played last game (Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma City). We just didn’t have a consistent team effort. The ball just did not move the way it needed to. When we ran our offense, guys got (good) shots. When we tried to go one-on-one, it just looked bad.”
Golden State early-season MVP candidate Stephen Curry and his fellow “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson capitalized on open shots, going a combined 8-for-14 from three-point range and totaling 42 points. The Warriors used advantages in turnovers, fouls and rebounding to fire a total of 100 shots, 11 more than the Pelicans.
It won’t get any easier for New Orleans on Saturday, when the Pelicans visit the Los Angeles Clippers. Like the Warriors, the Clippers have been surging lately, winners of six straight games. The Pelicans will be trying to hand the Clippers their first defeat at Staples Center since Nov. 17 vs. Chicago.