Stephen Curry had the hot hand early and the Warriors marched to a 111-95 win over the Pelicans on Opening Night at Oracle Arena.
GAME LEADERS
It would have been easy, possibly excusable, for the Warriors to look flat following the joyous pregame championship celebration. But Stephen Curry erased any thought of an Opening Night letdown with his torrid start, and the Dubs marched on to a 111-95 win over the Pelicans in front of a jubilant Oracle Arena crowd on Tuesday night.
Just minutes after addressing the crowd and leading the team in unveiling the 2015 championship banner in the arena rafters, Curry scored the first of his nine first quarter buckets with a finger roll off the dish from Andrew Bogut. Curry splashed home four 3-pointers to finish with 24 points in the period, setting the tone for a 40-point, seven-assist effort that looked awfully reminiscent of his MVP performance of a season ago.
In addition to Curry’s hot start, the Warriors got quality production from their big men. Already playing with a mask to protect a broken nose, Andrew Bogut was 6-for-6 from the floor and had 12 points, five assists and five rebounds before leaving the game in the third quarter with another facial injury – a laceration above the right eye that required stitches.