Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors, having been routed by the Indiana Pacers Thursday night, played a very entertaining and thrilling game against the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night at Oracle Arena.

The Pelicans, fighting to get into the playoffs, came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter. The Warriors regained their composure and trailed by two at the end of the first half. Kevin Durant took charge in the third quarter, and the Warriors were able to own the lead by four heading into the fourth quarter. The Pelicans refused to be beaten. They outscored the Warriors by 10 in the period and beat the defending NBA champs 126-120.

New Orleans came into the game tied with San Antonio and Oklahoma City for fifth place in the NBA’s Western Conference. Every game is a must-win for New Orleans as they could end up in ninth place behind Minnesota or Denver. They started the game by making the first nine shots they took. They were 10-for-13 in the first six minutes of the game, and they poured in 40 points and held the Warriors to 32. The Pelicans finished the first quarter on a 10-2 run.

The Warriors started to play defense in the second quarter and were able to tie the game at 65 late in the quarter. The Pelicans made a bucket to finish the first half leading 67-65. The Pelicans were led by Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotec, and the veteran guard Rajon Rondo. Quinn Cook paced the Warrior offense with 15. Kevin Durant had 11, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each had nine, and Nick Young tallied eight coming off the bench.

In the third quarter, the Pelicans extended the lead to 80-72. It was at this point in the quarter when the Warriors went on a 17-2 run to take the lead for the first time in the game 89-82. The Pelicans regained their composure, but the Warriors finished the third quarter leading 92-88. Kevin Durant led the Warriors, and it looked as if they had the momentum to carry them to a win. However, Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotec, and the rest of the Pelicans had other thoughts as they came back to take the lead 99-97.

The Pelicans caused the Warriors to turn the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter, and the Pelicans recorded 15 points off those turnovers. The teams were tied at 105 when New Orleans went on a 14-3 run to secure the win. One of the key plays for New Orleans came when Rajon Rondo picked Kevin Durant’s pocket as he stole the ball and that led to a big bucket for the Pelicans.The Pelicans win 126-120.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Pelicans improve to 46-34. San Antonio and Oklahoma City also won, and those three teams are 46-34. The Denver Nuggets also won, and they are 45-35 and tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are 45-35. The last two games of the season will be critical to these teams, and the Warriors probably will not know who they will be playing in the first round of the playoff until Wednesday.

Kevin Durant led the Warrior offense with 41 points, five assists, and 10 rebounds. Durant committed four turnovers Saturday night.

Draymond Green had a double-double with 11 points, nine assists, and 10 rebounds. Green had trouble handling the ball as he was charged with seven turnovers and the team as a whole committed 17 in the loss to the Pelicans. The eight turnovers in the fourth quarter cost them 15 points, and that cost them the game. Quinn Cook finished the night with 21, Klay Thompson had 18, and Kevon Looney, starting at center, pitched in with 10.

The Pelicans’ Anthony Davis, who outplayed Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter, finished with 34 points and 12 boards, Nikola Mirotec had 28, and he made five three-point shots. Jrue Holiday kicked in with 25, Rajon Rondo 12 and he had 17 assists, too. The Pelican defense had 15 steals and six blocked shots. The Warrior defense had no blocked shots and just three steals.

The Warriors drop to 57-23, and they have two games left on the schedule against Phoenix Sunday night in Phoenix and Tuesday night in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz. Utah is battling with Portland for the third seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors want to finish the season on a winning note but they know that the Utah game will not be easy.

Up Next: The Warriors take on the Phoenix Suns Sunday night at 6:00 pm PT.