The Warriors have moved within a single victory of advancing to the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Pelicans 118-92 in Game 4 on Sunday. Golden State got off to a great start, building a double-digit lead within the first four minutes, as the Dubs would never trail at any point in the contest. Kevin Durant was unstoppable at times and finished with a personal 2018 postseason-high 38 points to lead all scorers, in addition to collecting nine rebounds and five assists. Stephen Curry added 23 points and four three-pointers, while Draymond Green just missed another triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
TEAM LEADERS
SECRET WEAPON
Steve Kerr has used the lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green at various times throughout his tremendously successful tenure as Warriors Head Coach, but never once had that fivesome been used to start a game…until Sunday. Coming off a humbling defeat in Game 3, Kerr went to his secret weapon to begin Game 4, and that decision turned out to be a great one as the Dubs started the contest firing on all cylinders. Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis alternated scores on the first four baskets of the game, after which Golden State went on a 13-0 run to lead 17-4 midway through the first frame. Over that span, Durant made all three field goals he attempted, while both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson knocked down a three-pointer. The fast start proved critical to the Warriors’ victory, as the Pelicans were never able to dig themselves out of the hole it created. New Orleans closed within four points with just over a minute remaining in the first half, but never crested the hill, as Golden State maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the vast majority of the final two quarters.
DURANT'S DOMINANCE
Time and time again on Sunday, when the Warriors needed a basket, Kevin Durant was there to provide one. Try as they might, the Pelicans couldn’t seem to come up with an answer for Golden State’s prolific scorer, no matter which player was defending him. Durant got off to that fast start and totaled 10 points in each of the game’s first two quarters before adding another 13 in the third frame. He’d add another five points at the start of the fourth before sitting out the remainder of the game with the victory well in hand to finish with 38 points, the most he’s scored in a game this postseason. He’s now scored at least 22 points in all nine Warriors’ playoff games thus far.
3RD QUARTER...AGAIN
While Golden State opened up a big early lead, you have to give the Pelicans credit for clawing their way back into the game in the second quarter, which came to a close with the Dubs holding a 61-54 advantage. Once again, however, the Warriors would break the game open with a dominant third quarter. A Durant dunk followed by an Iguodala three-pointer within the first 66 seconds of the second half rebuilt Golden State’s lead to double digits, and the Dubs never looked back from there. After outscoring their opponents by an NBA-best 371 points in the third quarter during the regular season, the Warriors outscored the Pelicans by a 33-19 margin in the third frame on Sunday, their best third quarter point differential this postseason.
CURRY MILESTONES
Stephen Curry might just own every three-point record there is when all is said and done, and he moved one step closer to that on Sunday by making four of his nine three-point attempts to pass Manu Ginobli for third place on the NBA’s all-time threes list. Sunday’s game was also Curry’s 78th career playoff game, passing Jeff Mullins (77) for the third-most postseason games played in Warriors history, trailing only Klay Thompson (90) and Draymond Green (89).
UP NEXT
The Warriors will attempt to close out the series with New Orleans when they host the Pelicans at Oracle Arena in Game 5 on Tuesday night. FIND TICKETS