Curry, Thompson, Durant lead Warriors past Pelicans
NEW ORLEANS – As quickly as Golden State’s Klay Thompson pulled up for his seventh 3-pointer of the night, the Pelicans’ packed, home-opening crowd stopped chanting, “Defense,” and started looking for the nearest exits.
Thompson scored 31 points, Stephen Curry added 28 and the Golden State Warriors easily erased a 15-point firsthalf deficit en route to a 128-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
“I felt like I was in the zone,” Thompson said. “If I went out there and shot some more jumpers, I’d probably make some more. I was just getting great looks tonight.”
Kevin Durant added 22 points and a career-high seven blocked shots for the Warriors, who won for the first time this young season after dropping their opener to Houston.
New Orleans is still looking for its first victory after two games, shooting well early in both contests before fading in the second half.
Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds for the Pelicans, while fellow big man DeMarcus Cousins had 35 points and 14 rebounds.
Despite the loss, coach Alvin Gentry and several Pelicans players felt their play improved against the defending champion Warriors and left optimistic about an upcoming West Coast trip.
“We took another huge step tonight,” Cousins said. “I’m proud of the way we battled, looking forward to the next matchup. I think we are in a good place.”
The teams combined for 34 3-pointers, with the Warriors hitting 18. Thompson, his quickrelease perimeter shooting on full display, was 7 of 12 from deep.
The Pelicans, who wound up trailing by double digits much of the fourth quarter, pulled as close as five points on Cousins’ 3 with about three minutes to go. But Thompson responded immediately with a 3, after which Golden State remained comfortably in control.
“We were better today than we were the last game (at Memphis). That’s important,” Gentry said.