New Orleans Pelicans Get Embarrassed in Road Contest Against Undermanned Warriors

On Tuesday night, the New Orleans Pelicans dropped their second straight game of the season to the undermanned Golden State Warriors, 124-106.

The Warriors played without superstar guard Steph Curry (ankle) and forward Andrew Wiggins (back), but they showed their depth and system cohesiveness during the victory.

The Pelicans seemed poised to atone for their loss on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers by dominating the first quarter of play. Brandon Ingram scored the first 10 points as the offense was clicking on all cylinders. New Orleans held a 20-point lead at one point. Defensively, the Pelicans held Golden State to just 21% shooting from the floor and held them scoreless for the final 4:50 of the quarter.

New Orleans ended the first quarter on a 13-0 run and held a 31-14 advantage.

That lead quickly dwindled as the Warriors opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run. Turnovers doomed the Pelicans most of the evening. They committed 15 turnovers in the first half that led to 18 Golden State points.

Willie Green’s team couldn’t capitalize on the Warriors’ mistakes in the first half, scoring just two points on Golden State turnovers. New Orleans’ stars played like stars, with Zion Williamson scoring 19 points in the half and Ingram chipping in 15. Still, they only led 51-47 at the break.

Things continued to go downhill as the Pelicans offense sputtered to find consistency and the Golden State’s three-point shooting came alive.

They outscored New Orleans 40-28 in the third period, and to add insult to injury, Pelicans all-world defender Herb Jones left early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury after it was landed on by Warriors guard Brandon Podziemski.

Without Jones, New Orleans lost their premier perimeter defender, and without guard Dejounte Murray, they struggled to stop Golden State from making outside shots. That included former Pelicans guard Buddy Hield, who struggled in the first half with only three points but came alive to lead the Warriors to victory.

Hield scored 19 in the fourth quarter alone, while New Orleans perimeter scorers like CJ McCollum and Jordan Hawkins struggled to shoot the ball the entire evening.

McCollum finished with just 5 points on 2/8 shooting, while Hawkins scored just three points in 26 minutes. Golden State feasted on the Pelicans’ mistakes, turning the 23 New Orleans turnovers into 32 points. The Warriors committed just eight turnovers on the evening.

Williamson finished the game with 31 points in 30 minutes, while Ingram contributed 30, but the rest of their teammates combined for 45 points on the night.

That includes three Pelicans starters combining for 15 points, while the team only attempted 22 three-pointers on the evening. Golden State made 21 shots from distance in their 46 attempts.

The two teams play again on Wednesday night.

If Jones can’t play on Wednesday, the pressure mounts on players like Javonte Green and Hawkins to play solid defense and knock down shots.

New Orleans ends its current road trip after that contest before returning home for a five-game homestand starting on Friday night.