What we learned as the Warriors rush back to secure victory against Pels originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — For the second straight home game, the Warriors met an opponent directly below them in the late-season sprint of the Western Conference.
However, this game would not be handed out to the visitors.
The Warriors overcame a mostly sleepy first half with a blistering second half, and that was enough to earn a steaming 120-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in front of a sold-out crowd (18,064) at the Chase Center on Tuesday night.
The win moves Golden State (40-37) from seventh to sixth place ahead of the Clippers, who played in Memphis on Wednesday. The Pelicans (38-38) remain in eighth place.
Five Warriors scored in double digits, led by Stephen Curry with 39 points. Jordan Poole came off the bench in 21st.
Here are three observations from which the Warriors dominated the second half and bested the Pelicans 74-46.
Inferno in the third quarter
After a shockingly ordinary first half under the circumstances, the Warriors came out in the second half like the halftime treat was caffeine injected straight into their veins.
They were suddenly hyperactive on defense, forcing six turnovers and capitalizing on them for eight points. They even fought with the larger pelicans on the glass, hitting the lacquer with them. The Warriors more than quadrupled their second chance aggregate points all through the first half (9-2).
Golden State, which scored 46 points in the first half, had 39 points in the quarter and shot 48 percent from the field, with 44.4 percent over the arc.
Curry scored 13 points in the quarter, with Klay Thompson adding eight, as did Donte DiVincenzo, whose instant energy to open the quarter seemed contagious.
This was Golden State, who trailed as much as 20 in the first half, recorded their 12th home win and came back from a double-digit deficit.
Draymond’s Tactical Flare
The second quarter was very chaotic and Draymond Green was right in the middle of it.
There was the emphatic bump against a driving Brandon Ingram with 3:44 remaining in the half, which initially resulted in a common foul but was upgraded to a flagrant 1 after checking.
There was the post bump Barking between Green and Ingram, resulting in double technical fouls. Draymond’s technical foul total is up to 17. If not reversed, #18 would result in another one-game suspension.
Shortly after order was restored or not, Draymond was called off for the tackle after hitting Herb Jones on a very physical drive to the basket. Green and Jones had words, and Ingram spoke as well.
Sensing Draymond was on the verge of an emotional explosion, coach Steve Kerr traded it off hoping he would calm down with a few minutes on the bench.
Golden State lost the quarter 27-21 and was beaten in the wild final 13-5:3:44.
But don’t think for a moment that the intensity didn’t carry over into the second half.
Cast change: Kuminga in, Looney out
It came as no surprise that Kerr put the 6-foot-7 Jonathan Kuminga on the starting lineup. Who better to defend the 6-foot-8 Ingram?
The surprise was that Kuminga’s start knocked out not 6-foot-4 guard Donte DiVincenzo but 6-foot-9 center Kevon Looney. The Pelicans had four starters, including Ingram, who are the same size or larger than all five Golden State starters.
The line-up change didn’t go particularly well. Kuminga made only his second start in the last three weeks, picking up two quick fouls and being pulled in Looney’s place at 6:17 in the first quarter.
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In addition to Ingram, who had 16 points before the break, the Pelicans had crucial first-half advantages in rebounds (25-17), second chance points (9-2), and fast break points (20-2, including 8 of 8). out of the area).
After a relatively quiet first half with five points and two rebounds, Kuminga bounced back after halftime to finish with 13 points (5-of-5 from the field, including his only 3-ball) and four rebounds.
Source : sports.yahoo.com