After trailing by 17 at halftime, the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 74-46 in the second half to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 120-109 Tuesday at Chase Center. The Dubs completed their second-largest comeback of the season, only trailing their 23-point comeback against the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 28.
Stephen Curry led the way with a game-high 39 points and eight 3-pointers, snapping a five-game winning streak for the Pelicans.
The Warriors tied the season series with New Orleans 2-2 and regained sixth-place in the Western Conference standings.
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Team Leaders
GSW
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Curry - 39 | Curry - 8 | D. Green - 13 |
| Poole - 21 | Looney - 8 | Curry - 8 |
| Thompson - 17 | DiVincenzo - 7 | 4-Tied - 2 |
NOP
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Ingram - 26 | Valanciunas - 9 | Ingram - 7 |
| Murphy III - 21 | Ingram - 8 | Valanciunas - 5 |
| McCollum - 15 | Jones/Nance Jr. - 6 | Jones - 4 |
Tale of Two Halves
The Warriors trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half and emotions were running high. Draymond Green picked up his 17th technical foul as the Warriors piled up unforced turnovers and failed to get back in transition. The Dubs committed 14 first-half turnovers but had only five in the second half. By halftime, they were outscored 20-2 in fast-break points, but outscored the Pelicans 10-2 in transition during the second half. The Pelicans shot 9-for-13 from behind the arc in the first half, but made just 3-of-14 in the second half.
Postgame Warriors Talks
DiVincenzo Sets Tone for Second Half
With 11:43 remaining in the third quarter, Stephen Curry had a good look at a 3-pointer, but missed. However, Donte DiVincenzo remained engaged, crashing the offensive glass and jamming in the putback slam over Pelicans’ forward Brandon Ingram. On the ensuing Warriors' possession, DiVincenzo set a screen for Klay Thompson before cutting to the basket. Curry found DiVincenzo, who finished with his left hand and drew the foul. After Thompson's 3-pointer on the following possession, the Warriors scored the first eight points of the third quarter, gaining the momentum they would eventually carry to victory.
“I thought Donte (DiVincenzo) helped us get off to a good start,” Steve Kerr said regarding the third quarter turnaround. “He had that putback dunk. He had a couple of big energy plays. And then offensively, we just did a much better job of executing offensively. I thought we were trying to force the pick-and-roll too much in the first half, that's probably my fault. And then in the second half, we got more to our kind of our off-ball, execution stuff, our flow stuff that we've been good at for years, and then the guys really started to execute.”
Donte DiVincenzo Putback JAM
Curry and Looney Pivotal Late in Third
With 1:44 remaining in the third quarter, the Warriors were down by 11, 85-74. Kevon Looney gave second and third efforts on the offensive glass to clean up a Curry miss, volleyball tapping the ball before securing it and kicking back to Curry, who sank the 3-pointer. Then, Curry used a Looney ball screen and splashed in another triple over Jonas Valanciunas. After yet another offensive rebound from Looney, he found Curry again for another splash, which cut the lead to six. Looney had five offensive rebounds in the third quarter alone, while Curry had 13 points and four triples. The Warriors entered the fourth only down by four and won the third period by 13, largely thanks to the efforts of Curry and Looney.
Looney Keeps it Alive for Curry Triple
Three Warriors Combine for 30 Points in Fourth
Jordan Poole (13), Stephen Curry (9) and Jonathan Kuminga (8) combined for 30 of the Warriors' 35 fourth-quarter points. The Dubs outscored the Pelicans by 15 in the final frame, securing the 11-point victory.
Jordan Poole Eurostep Gives Dubs Lead
Draymond Green Lights Fuel into Dubs
Despite picking up his 17th technical foul and being in foul trouble for the majority of the night, Draymond Green's immense impact was felt all over the court on Tuesday. Green led the game in assists (13) and plus-minus (26). He got into several verbal altercations with Pelicans' players and, despite the adversity, never backed down.
“It takes a real one to talk when you're down 20," Draymond Green said to TNT sideline reporter Chris Haynes postgame. "I was able to get my guys going, and then they started doing what they do, and I can do what I do.”
“Draymond willed us to victory tonight”, Steve Kerr said, when reflecting on Green's impact. "I mean, just his intensity his frustration early with the way we were playing, mad at the world yelling at everybody, their bench, our bench, me, and frankly we all deserved it. That first half was as poor a half as we've played all year. We weren't engaged and that's what makes Draymond special. It's not just the amazing basketball IQ, defense, and playmaking, but it's just his sheer will. And he was the key tonight.”
Up Next
The Warriors are 2-1 on their four-game homestand and have one more game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night (7 p.m.; NBCSBA) before a road date with the Denver Nuggets on Sunday (5:30 p.m.; NBCSBA, TNT).
MORE NOTABLES:
- The Warriors improved to 17-2 in their last 19 home games vs. New Orleans… They have won four-straight games vs. the Pelicans at home.
- Golden State and New Orleans finished their season-series 2-2, with each team winning both games at home.
- The Warriors have now won 14 of their last 16 games at Chase Center, including 10 of the last 11, and improved to 31-8 at Chase Center on the season… They are one of five teams to have 30-or-more home victories this season.
- Golden State trailed by as many as 20 points and went on to win, the team’s second-largest comeback win of the season (23, on 2/28 vs. POR).
- Tonight marked the team’s 12th double-figure comeback victory, with all 12 coming at home.
- Golden State also came back from down 17 points in their last game vs. New Orleans on 3/3.
- The Warriors improved to 19-2 this season when holding opponents under 110 points and 29-5 when holding their opponent to fewer than 115 points.
- Golden State improved to 23-6 on the season when shooting at least 50% from the field.
- The Warriors dished out 30-or-more assists for the 38th time this season, matching Denver (38) for the most-such games in the NBA.
- Golden State improved to 28-7 when scoring 120-plus points.
- The Warriors improved to 7-0 at home when making 45% of their attempts from three (17-1 at home when making 40% of their attempts from three).
- According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Warriors have the third-best winning percentage at home this season when trailing after the third quarter (.533, 8-7), behind the Grizzlies (.667, 4-2) and Cavaliers (.615, 8-5).
- Stephen Curry (250 3-pointers) and Klay Thompson (278 3-pointers) have each made 250 3-pointers this season for the third time in their careers (2015-16 and 2016-17); No other pair of teammates in NBA history has accomplished the feat (ESPN Stats & Info).
- Tonight marked the Warriors’ 469th consecutive sellout (regular season and playoffs), the longest-such streak in franchise history.
- Stephen Curry scored a game-high 39 points, his 26th 30-point game of the season… Curry made eight-or-more 3-pointers for the sixth time this season (74thcareer), extending his NBA-record streak of regular season games with at least one 3-pointer to 240.
- Jordan Poole tallied 21 points off the bench, his third-consecutive 20-point game (all as a reserve)… The three-game 20-point streak as a reserve is the second longest in his career, trailing only a four-game one (3/3-3/10/23)… Poole is averaging 27.0 points per game in the last three contests… He has 199 threes on the season.
- Klay Thompson made five 3-pointers tonight and has now recorded 278 threes this season, setting a single-season best mark for made 3-point baskets (prev. 276, 2015-16)… He also leads the NBA in threes this season.
- Jonathan Kuminga tallied his 29th game this season scoring in double figures… Kuminga made all five of his shots from the field, marking his second-career game shooting 100% from the field on at least five attempts (6-of-6, 12/27/22 vs. CHA).
- Draymond Green dished out a season-high-tying 13 assists (third time), marking his 13th outing this season of double-figure assists.
- Kevon Looney grabbed a team-high-tying eight rebounds, six on the offensive end, giving him a league-high 253 offensive rebounds this season (Atlanta’s Clint Capela is second with 250)… He played in his 188th consecutive regular season game, the league’s second-longest active behind Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges’ 385.