SAN FRANCISCO — The Pelicans were even more shorthanded than the Warriors, with CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray unavailable due to injuries.
Their skeleton team couldn’t keep pace with the Warriors, even without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton for a second straight night. Especially with the absence of their two best players.
Draymond Green (14 points, six assists, five blocks, four rebounds and a steal) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (15 points, nine rebounds) dominated Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, helping to create a big sequence in the third quarter. The Warriors outscored the Pelicans 56-34 in the paint, a stat that showcases both Green’s defensive brilliance and Golden State’s offensive approach. A night after Buddy Hield and Lindy Waters III lit it up deep, the Warriors took it to the court.
Williamson had a double-double but went 5 of 20 from the field and Ingram was held to just 14 points on 11 shots.
In a rare back-to-back home game against the same opponent, the short-handed Warriors (4-1) swept the undermanned Pelicans. Golden State rallied in the second half for a 104-89 victory in its final home game before embarking on a daunting road trip that includes matchups against the Celtics, Thunder and Cavaliers.
Waters earned his second career start after exploding for 21 points coming off the bench in Warriors-Pelicans Vol. 1. The Pelicans had a much better scouting report on him after this performance, as they limited him to three points. But the Warriors had other options.
Brandin Podziemski played another terrific all-around game, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Hield came alive in the second half, finishing with 21 points. Green also added a trio of 3-pointers.
Golden State’s ball movement was much less crisp than in the first game of a back-to-back. The Warriors committed nine turnovers in the first 16 minutes of the game. The night before, they had turned the ball over a total of eight times, dominating the possession game.
The Warriors’ turnovers prevented them from building a cushion. After going up 32-20, the Warriors gave up a 16-2 run in the second quarter, with Steve Kerr taking two timeouts to try to settle things.
After a back-and-forth second quarter, Brandon Ingram made a 3 with three seconds left in the half to bring the Pelicans within one. But Draymond Green bounced an advanced pass in the middle of the field to Buddy Hield, who ran with it for his own hat-trick.
So, despite 11 turnovers in the first half, Golden State entered the half with a 48-44 lead. They shot over 50% from the field and 47% from 3-point land in the first half, but allowed New Orleans to take 12 more shots than them due to turnovers and offensive rebounds.
They controlled both zones in the second half. Golden State opened the third quarter on a 17-6 blitz, with Jackson-Davis hammering a pair of dunks, Green cutting to the rim for an and-1 and Podziemski scoring a 3. And without having to walk Back after turnovers, Golden State’s defense engulfed the Pelicans in half court.
After Jackson-Davis fed Podziemski for a bucket, Pelicans coach Willie Green called his second timeout of the third period to snap a 21-9 run.
Golden State’s hot start to the second half helped build a 17-point lead. Williamson had a chance to put the Pelicans on his back, but missed a couple of point-blank tries and three free throws. After three quarters, Williamson was 3 of 16 from the field.
Williamson never got going and the Warriors never looked back. Hield’s third 3-pointer gave Golden State an 18-point lead five minutes into the fourth quarter before Jonathan Kuminga – coming off the bench for a second straight game – dusted off Ingram to make it 20 .
The only dramatic moments in the fourth came when Steve Kerr lost his first challenge of the year after starting 4 for 4 – all of which negated the fouls given to Green. Right after that, Podziemski committed a technical foul for contesting a missed out-of-bounds call that he never touched.
Green committed his fifth foul on a Williamson and-1 following Podziemski’s technical, then Kuminga failed to take a free throw. The series of errors kept New Orleans within reach.
But the Warriors had enough composure to eliminate the Pelicans. Podziemski suffered an awkward fall with his right arm after being thwarted by Javonte Green, but stayed in the match to help seal the victory.
