Midway through the first quarter JaVale McGee threw down a dunk off of a Klay Thompson assist and the Warriors had a one-point lead. Turns out that was their largest and last lead of the game.
TEAM LEADERS
Nikola Mirotic nailed a 3-pointer on the game’s next possession, and the New Orleans’ blitz was on. The Pelicans soon built a double-digit advantage and continued to play with great intensity for the duration of the game. When the final horn sounded, the Dubs were downed 119-100.
The defeat makes the series 2-1 in favor of the Warriors, with Game 4 on Sunday. The loss also guarantees a Game 5 back at Oracle Arena on Tuesday, and tickets are available now FIND TICKETS.
KLAY’S SECOND QUARTER
With the New Orleans onslaught on, the Warriors made runs here and there to get back into it on multiple occasions. Early in the second quarter, the Pelicans quickly pushed their lead to 15 points, but then Klay Thompson got going. The sharpshooting guard, who struggled offensively in Game 2 and was held scoreless in the first quarter on Friday, finally got hot. He had 20 points in the second quarter, good for the highest scoring period of his postseason career. At one point, he had eight straight Warriors points, including five free throws, that helped bring the team to within four midway through the quarter. New Orleans would push the lead back into double digits, but Thompson’s third three-pointer of the period made it a six-point game going into the half.
THE DIFFERENCE
Three-point shooting and bench performance proved to be the difference in this game. Solomon Hill came off the bench for the Pelicans and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the opening quarter, and that set the tone for the entire game. Former Warrior Ian Clark had a whale of a game, putting in 18 points in 22 minutes, and the entire Warriors bench had fewer than 10 points combined over the first three quarters of the game. Hill and Clark had six of the Pelicans’ 14 3-pointers, and the Warriors as a team had just nine.
OF NOTE
Stephen Curry scored 19 points and now has 2,012 during his playoff career, becoming the first Warriors player ever to have 2,000 career postseason points. Another first for Curry: he became the first Warriors player with 500 postseason assists. In addition, he passed Reggie Miller (320) for fourth all-time in career postseason 3-pointers (322).
Kevin Durant had 11 of his 22 points in the first quarter and he’s now had at least 20 points in 15 straight postseason games.
Draymond Green fell one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Green, who was a rebound away from a triple-double on Tuesday, has posted four straight double-doubles and is averaging a triple-double for this series (15.7 points, 10.7 assists and 12.0 rebounds).
Rajon Rondo set a Warriors playoff opponent record with 21 assists. Previously Magic Johnson held that distinction with his 17 helpers on May 5, 1991.
UP NEXT
Still up 2-1 in the series, the Warriors will look to get back on track on Sunday when the series continues in New Orleans with Game 4 at 12:30 p.m. (Pacific).