The Golden State Warriors received a big fight from the New Orleans Pelicans, but it seems as though they just can’t lose at home.
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The Warriors are now 41-2 at home in the 2014-15 regular season and playoffs as they now have a 2-0 lead over the Pelicans in their first-round series following a 97-87 win.
The Pelicans took a large lead in the first quarter as guard Eric Gordon got off to a hot start, but the Warriors refused to go down that soon.
The Warriors fought back in the second quarter and went on a 30-19 run to tie the game, and it remained close all the way until halftime.
Warriors point guard and MVP candidate Stephen Curry capped off this exciting second quarter with a three-pointer that was made with nine seconds remaining, and the Warriors took a 55-52 lead as a result.
The teams continued to fight hard for the win as they ended the third quarter with a tie, but Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson woke up in the fourth quarter and started it with a two-point shot.
The Warriors extended their lead to eight points later in the fourth quarter after small forward Andre Iguodala threw down a slam dunk on an alley-oop pass from power forward Draymond Green.
However, the Pelicans still refused to lie down as star power forward Anthony Davis and Gordon combined for 11 points in the next three minutes.
With just under five minutes remaining, the Warriors led the Pelicans, 88-86. The Warriors pulled away though as they went on a 9-0 run, and Thompson scored seven of his 14 fourth-quarter points in the last 3:30 of the game.
This included a three-point play that sealed the win.
Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans was able to eke out a free throw with 23 seconds left to put one more point on the board, but Thompson’s clutch play was ultimately too much for the Pelicans.
Thompson led the Warriors with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting, and Curry added another 22 points on 9-of-21 shooting with four rebounds and six assists.
Green and center Andrew Bogut continued to fill the rebounding role for the Warriors as Bogut grabbed 14 to go with three blocked shots.
Green added 12 to go with five assists and three steals, and he scored 14 points. The rest of the offense was mostly quiet.
The defense held strong though, despite another great performance from Davis, who figures to be an even more serious MVP candidate in the future.
Davis scored 26 points on 9-of-22 shooting while snagging 10 rebounds, and he now averages 30.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his short playoff career.
Gordon continued to pose a threat to the Warriors defense after his hot first quarter, and he finished with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
Evans was able to put together a solid all-around performance as well after returning from a knee bruise sustained in Game 1. He scored 16 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Pelicans were lacking in offense as a whole though as they collectively shot 37.8 percent from the field, but they will receive an opportunity to recover from this tiring loss as they play their next two games in New Orleans.
The Warriors’ road record was plenty solid though as they finished the season 28-13, and Curry and Thompson are tough to stop on any court.
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