Playing their fifth road game in seven days, the Warriors ended their season-long road trip on a winning note, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 113-109 on Tuesday. Draymond Green sealed the victory with a steal in the final seconds and recorded his first triple-double of the season with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 30 points, while Kevin Durant wasn’t far behind with 27 of his own. With the win, Golden State improves to 22-4 on the season.
GAME LEADERS
After Klay Thompson sank his first three-pointer of the night to tie things up at 5-5, Golden State’s offense went cold while New Orleans went on 8-0 run. The Pelicans would build a lead as large as nine points, but Stephen Curry – who made an NBA-record 13 three-pointers the last time these two teams met – drained back-to-back treys in a span of 33 seconds to pull Golden State within 20-18 with 4:15 remaining in the first frame. After the Warriors had evened things up, Curry would add another three-pointer at the 2:27 mark to give the Dubs their largest lead of the entire first half at 25-22. Anthony Davis, who led all scorers with 13 points in the frame, would get a lay-in on the ensuing possession, igniting a 13-4 Pelicans run to end the quarter, giving New Orleans a 35-29 lead at the end of one. JaVale McGee, who made his first start for Golden State in place of the injured Zaza Pachulia, took advantage of his extended opportunity, providing the Warriors with five points and three rebounds in the opening period.
Thompson would open the second quarter with a three-pointer, but Langston Galloway would convert two of his own in the ensuing two minutes to prevent Golden State from closing the gap. The Dubs would cut the deficit to within a single score on eight separate occasions throughout the frame, but each and every time New Orleans would have an answer to keep them at bay.
The Pelicans would match their largest lead of the half on yet another Galloway three-pointer with 49 seconds left, after which Curry scored to send the game into halftime with Golden State trailing 65-58. The Warriors’ struggles were more defensive than offensive, as they combined to shoot 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from the field in the first half, but allowed the Pelicans to convert one more shot on one fewer attempt, including 10-of-19 from three-point range.
Golden State opened the second half on a 4-0 burst to close within a single score, which they’d do twice more before JaVale McGee capped an 8-0 run with a dunk at the 7:24 mark that gave the Dubs their first lead since the first quarter at 76-74. The Warriors would twice build a lead as large as eight points, both on Kevin Durant dunks, before New Orleans responded with an 8-0 run to retake a momentary advantage with 2:32 remaining in the third frame.
Ian Clark and Galloway would trade three-pointers on the next two possessions, after which Durant was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted all three resulting free throws to put Golden State back in front. After two more free throws from Thompson, Tim Frazier would make a three-pointer to close out the scoring in the quarter and send the game into the fourth and final frame with Golden State holding a slim 95-94 lead.
New Orleans opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 100-95 lead with 9:23 left in regulation, but the Warriors refused to go away quietly. Shaun Livingston and Durant recorded back-to-back dunks, after which Andre Iguodala made his first three-pointer of the game to give Golden State a 102-100 advantage with eight minutes left to play.
The see-saw theme would continue from there, as the two sides would trade 5-0 runs before Anthony Davis converted a 13-foot jumper to tie things up at 107-107 with 4:46 left to play. Then, after Davis had split free throws, Curry contorted his body mid-air and drained a jumper from the corner to put the Warriors in front for good. Curry would extend Golden State’s advantage to 111-108 and score the final two of his game-high 30 points on a layup with 1:53 remaining, in what would prove to be the final made field goal for either side in the contest. Exactly 100 seconds later, Jrue Holiday would go to the line with a chance to pull New Orleans within one. After making the first free throw, Holiday missed the second, but the rebound was corralled by E’Twaun Moore, giving New Orleans a chance to tie or take a lead. Draymond Green, however, had other ideas.
As Anthony Davis set up on the left elbow, Green provided yet another instance of a game-saving defensive performance, stripping Davis of possession before gathering the loose ball. Green was immediately fouled, and proceeded to convert both ensuing free throws to clinch the 113-109 victory.
With the win Golden State improves to 22-4 on the season and finishes their season-long five-game road trip with a 4-1 record. Additionally, the Warriors are now 15-0 all-time when Draymond Green records a triple-double. Next, Golden State will return to the Bay Area for a three-game homestand, beginning on Thursday against the visiting New York Knicks.