SAN FRANCISCO — The Pelicans were even more short-handed than the Warriors, having CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray unavailable due to injuries.
Their skeleton crew couldn’t keep pace with the Warriors, even without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton for a second straight night. Especially with their best two players no-showing.
Draymond Green (14 points, six assists, five blocks, four rebounds and a steal) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (15 points, nine rebounds) outplayed Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, helping key a big third-quarter run. The Warriors outscored the Pelicans 56 to 34 in the paint, a stat that shows equally Green’s defensive brilliance and Golden State’s offensive approach. A night after Buddy Hield and Lindy Waters III lit it up from deep, the Warriors got it done in the front court.
Williamson had a double-double but went 5-for-20 from the field and Ingram was limited to just 14 points on 11 shots. Green had his fingerprints all over the game.
“He’s still one of the best defenders in the world, that’s for sure,” head coach Steve Kerr said of Green postgame.
In a rare back-to-back at home against the same opponent, the shorthanded Warriors (4-1) swept the undermanned Pelicans. Golden State pulled away in the second half for a 104-89 victory in its last home game before heading on a daunting road trip that includes contests against the Celtics, Thunder and Cavaliers.
Through five games, the Warriors have the second-best defensive rating in the league. They’ve made defense their identity and are convinced that new personnel and assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse’s influence can make them elite on that end. Green, as always, is the anchor.
“I spent all summer watching everyone talking about Chet (Holmgren) and (Victor Wembanyama) and what they’re doing defensively,” Green said postgame. “But don’t forget about Dray. I want to be in that conversation as well, and I think I’ve earned that right to at least be in the conversation. So every game, I’m coming out here motivated defensively to get back on the First Team All-Defense.”
In the first matchup with the Pelicans, Williamson went for 31 points on 12-for-19 shooting. Green vowed to make it tougher on the All-Star by meeting “force with force.”
Beyond Green’s work on both ends — he also hit three of four 3-pointers —Brandin Podziemski played another tremendous all-around game, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Hield came alive in the second half, finishing with 21 points. Green also added a trio of 3-pointers.
Golden State’s ball movement started out much less crisp than it was in the first game of the back-to-back. The Warriors committed nine turnovers in the first 16 minutes of the game. A night before, they turned it over eight times total, dominating the possession game.
The Warriors’ turnovers prevented them from building a cushion. After going up 32-20, the Warriors surrendered a 16-2 run in the second quarter, with Steve Kerr taking two timeouts to try to settle things down.
After a back-and-forth second quarter, Brandon Ingram sank a 3 with three seconds left in the half to pull the Pelicans within one. But Draymond Green bounced an advance pass up the middle of the court for Buddy Hield, who raced with it for a buzzer-beating trey of his own.
So, despite turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, Golden State entered halftime with a 48-44 lead. They shot over 50% from the field and 47% from 3-point land in the first half, but allowed New Orleans to take 12 more shots than them because of turnovers and offensive boards.
They got both areas under control in the second half, only coughing up three turnovers. Golden State opened the third quarter on a 17-6 blitz, with Jackson-Davis hammering home a pair of dunks, Green slashing to the rim for an and-1, and Podziemski rattling home a 3. And without having to backpedal after turnovers, Golden State’s defense swallowed up the Pelicans in the half court.
On the year, Jackson-Davis is 21-for-27 from the floor.
“Coach Kerr challenged me today, he told me he wanted me to play with a force and to run the floor hard,” Jackson-Davis said.
After Jackson-Davis fed Podziemski for a bucket, Pelicans coach Willie Green called his second timeout of the third period to pause a 21-9 run.
Golden State’s blazing start to the second half helped create a 17-point cushion. Williamson had chances to put the Pelicans on his back, but missed a couple point-blank tries and three free throws. After three quarters, Williamson was 3-for-16 from the field.
Green and the Warriors defense never let Williamson get going, and the Warriors never looked back. Hield’s third 3-pointer gave Golden State an 18-point lead five minutes into the fourth quarter before Jonathan Kuminga — coming off the bench for a second straight game — dusted Ingram to push it to 20.
The only moments of drama in the fourth came when Steve Kerr lost his first challenge of the year after starting 4-for-4 — all of which overturned fouls called on Green. Right after that, Podziemski picked up a technical foul for arguing a missed out-of-bounds call that he never touched.
Green picked up his fifth foul on a Williamson and-1 following Podziemski’s technical, then Kuminga failed to box out on a free throw. The string of miscues kept New Orleans within striking distance.
But the Warriors had enough composure to close out the Pelicans. Podziemski braced an awkward fall with his right arm after getting undercut by Javonte Green, but remained in the game to help seal the win.
“I think we’re built around our defense, no matter who’s out there,” Podziemski said. “Offense is always going to come when you have Steph Curry. I think our identity is built on defense and rebounding and getting out in transition. I think that’s something we can hang our hat on no matter who’s injured.”
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