The Golden State Warriors faltered in game 3 to the New Orleans Pelicans 119-100. The Warriors lead in the series has fallen to 2-1.
The Pelicans certainly played like their season depended on it. Their energy on the defensive end was much more impressive than in either of the first two games.
Had they gone down 3-0 in the series, their season would have nearly been guaranteed to be over. They took care of business to prolong their season.
The Pelicans got off to a strong start in front of their frenzied home crowd and led the Warriors 30-21 after the first quarter.
Both Jrue Holiday and Kevin Durant had 11 points after the first. The Warriors shot just 36% in the opening quarter, while the Pelicans shot an excellent 52%.
The Pelicans shot 6-10 from beyond the 3-point line in the first quarter while the Warriors went just 1-7 from downtown.
Klay Thompson had a huge second quarter, scoring 20 points in that quarter alone to help the Warriors climb to within 6 at halftime. The Pelicans still went to the locker room leading 62-56, though.
Rajon Rondo had an impressive 10 assists at halftime. Holiday and Nikola Mirotic both led the Pelicans with 14 points after the first half. Durant led the Warriors with 13 points at the half, while Stephen Curry had 3 steals.
The Pelicans could credit their lead at halftime to their superb 3-point shooting. They shot 10-16 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The third quarter is when things began to get out of hand. The Pelicans surged to a 17 point lead to enter the fourth quarter ahead of the Warriors 92-75.
Anthony Davis scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and swiped 3 steals through three quarters. Rondo had 14 assists through three quarters.
The Pelicans held the Warriors to just 38% from the field through three quarters, while the Pelicans shot 46% from downtown by the time the fourth quarter began.
The Pelicans didn’t let their lead slip away and handed the Warriors a commanding defeat of 119-100 with a chance to tie up the series in game 4.
Thompson led the Warriors with 26 points, while Durant finished with 22 points. Curry had 19 points and 4 steals. Draymond Green finished an assist away from a triple-double. He had 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Anthony Davis led the game with 33 points and 18 rebounds. He also added 4 steals to his impressive stat line. Rondo had a remarkable 21 assists and even added 10 rebounds. Mirotic added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Ian Clark had a big game against his former team. He scored 18 points in 22 minutes off the bench, shooting 3-5 from downtown.
The Pelicans shot 50% from the field for the game, while the Warriors shot just 38%. The Pelicans shot 45% from downtown while the Warriors were just 29% from 3-point range.