Photo Credit: Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (14-12) made easy work of the New Orleans Pelicans (11-12), cruising to a 104-93 victory, Tuesday night at Oracle Arena. The final margin of victory doesn’t do justice to a game that Golden State controlled from the tip-off. Andre Igoudala returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with an injury, and Stephen Curry was his usual electric self.

In a pleasant departure from the last several games, the Warriors started the game guns blazing. They hit seven of their first 10 shots, and in general played with a sense of urgency we haven’t been seeing until the second half of games. They held a seven-point first quarter lead, and extended that into an 18-point lead at half time.

They never gave New Orleans even a glimmer of hope. Golden State kept their foot on the gas pedal, opening up a whopping 23-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. From there the Warriors emptied their bench, but the final 11-point win was as close as the Pelicans ever got.

Golden State never trailed in this one, and led for 47 of 48 minutes. They had an uncharacteristically poor game from the three-point line, hitting just five-of-20 from beyond the arc, but that was just about the only negative on a night full of positives.

From start to finish Curry was phenomenal. He finished the game with a double-double, posting a game-high 28 points and 12 assists. For good measure he also had four rebounds and three steals. This marks his 11^th consecutive game with 20+ points, the longest active streak in the NBA, and a personal career high.

David Lee had possibly his best game of the season. He was extremely active on both ends of the floor, and produced his almost customary double-double. He finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Bogut finished just two points shy of the teams third double-double on the night. He had eight points and 10 boards.

Iguodala had a quiet night, as he was slowly eased back into game action. He played just 17 minutes, scoring two points and dishing out two assists. As always he was active on the defensive end, and seemed to be moving around well and without pain.

Five New Orleans players finished with double-digit points in the loss. Ryan Anderson led the team with 21 points, and had six rebounds.

Golden State is back in action this Thursday against the always tough San Antonio Spurs. The game begins at 7:30pm, back at Oracle Arena.