By: Eric He
In a game that meant much more to the home team than the visitors, the Golden State Warriors fell just short in a 103-100 defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans on the road on Tuesday night.
After Stephen Curry tied the game at 100-100 with 35 seconds to play with a three-pointer, he missed the Warriors’ final two shots — a floater and a last-second attempt at a three to tie the game — and the Warriors dropped their second game in a row.
Down five in the final minute, the Warriors went on a 5-0 spurt with a Draymond Green layup and a contested three by Curry to even the score. But the Pelicans took the lead on a free throw by Tyreke Evans after Evans was fouled coming across midcourt by Andre Iguodala, a questionable call after replays showed Evans fell on his own.
Nevertheless, the Pelicans emerged with an important victory to take over the eighth seed in the West.
It seemed as if the Warriors had control of the game, taking a 12-point lead into half-time.
But the Pelicans got themselves back in the game with a 10-0 run to being the second half, cutting a 12-point lead down to two. Davis and Omer Asik scored all 10 points, and Andrew Bogut was forced to exit after picking up three fouls early in the half.
The Pelicans took a 79-78 lead into the fourth quarter and opened up an 88-82 advantage midway through the fourth. A 13-2 run by the Warriors, however, put them back in the driver’s seat temporarily. as Curry and Klay Thompson both made jumpers. A breakaway layup by Curry gave the Warriors a 95-92 lead.
It would prove to be not enough, as a 29-point, 10-rebound performance by Anthony Davis led the Pelicans to victory. Quincy Pondexter had 20 points, making all four of his three-point attempts.
Curry’s 25 points led the Warriors, but Green had the best all-around performance with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Thompson struggled for the second consecutive game, managing just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting and 1-of-5 from three-point range.
The Warriors opened up a 55-43 lead at half-time thanks to a barrage of threes by Curry, who had 16 points in the half. Nine of them came late in the second when he knocked down three-straight triples, his final one hitting nothing but net over two defenders as time wound down in the half.
It concluded a 14-5 run by the Warriors to end the half and extend a five-point lead to 12. The Pelicans had hung around, putting forth their best effort in a game they had to win.
Trailing 19-17 at the 3:20 mark of the first quarter, the Warriors finished the quarter on a 10-0 run, holding the Pelicans scoreless over the last three minutes thanks to terrific interior defense by Andrew Bogut.
The Warriors held Davis to just six points on 2-of-10 shooting in the first half.
