Golden State now takes their 2-0 series lead and heads to New Orleans at full strength
No one said this was going to be easy, or pretty, but at least with Steph Curry back, it’s fun!
The Golden State Warriors traded shots back and forth with the New Orleans Pelicans for most of the game before pulling away in the final frame. Each team took turns going on little runs and then watching the other team climb back into the game, but in the end the Warriors consistency won out.
It was a well-rounded effort for the Warriors: Durant had 29 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks; Curry scored 28 points (including 5-10 from deep); and Draymond almost had another triple double with a burly 20 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, and 2 blocks.
When they come together like this, the Warriors are a fearsome sight .
Once Steph Curry comes in, everything changes
With 4:20 left in the first quarter, the crowd started rumbling, then roaring once it became clear that Steph Curry was checking into a Warriors game for the first time in about almost two months.
The game had started without me, as TNT rightly kept their cameras pointed at yet another superb playoff performance from Lebron James as he went on his semi-annual dinosaur hunt and broke the dreams of the Raptors in overtime.
It’s not just the weaponized joy (patent pending), Curry’s talents fundamentally transform how a defense must react. Having Curry on the court unlocks a lot of what vaults this team from great to transcendent.
That shot’s cool and all, but it’s important to understand how forcing a defense to contend with crazy range like that can open everything up. It’s no coincidence that Curry shows up tonight and immediately logs the games highest plus/minus in his first game back.
Just watch his first half highlights and appreciate this man. He came out aggressive and changed the game. He still doesn’t look 100%, but it’s hard to say how much of that is rust versus any sort of physical impairment from that troublesome knee.
Things got a little heated out there tonight
Playoff basketball is significantly more physical and emotional than a random Tuesday night game in February, so it’s really no surprise that these two teams got into it a little bit. Anthony Davis is such a monster inside,
After Draymond Green and Anthony Davis got tangled up in a slo-mo wrestling match...
The game seemed teetering on the edge of going too far. Rajon Rondo body checked Curry, there were two consecutive plays where Pelicans players wrapped up a Warriors rather than concede a layup, And then Andre Iguodala broke the tension with one of the most hilarious pretend flop moves I’ve ever seen. Watch him at the end when the ref comes over...
After this, Kerr put in David West, who mean mugged everyone into a cease fire on the aggression front.
Keep an eye on the physicality of this series. With bruisers like Davis and hotheads like Green and Rondo, all the tinder is there, just waiting for a spark to set off the flames.