Warriors overtake Pelicans to cap 5-0 homestand

Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points and the Golden State Warriors worked their come-from-behind magic once again to outlast the New Orleans Pelicans, 108-99, on Friday night, March 3 (Saturday, March 4, Manila time) in San Francisco.

Donte DiVincenzo came through with three big plays down the stretch as the Warriors, playing without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, completed a 5-0 homestand to continue a push up the Western Conference standings.

Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the Golden State bench, chipped in 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.

CJ McCollum had a team-high 25 points and Brandon Ingram added 17 for the Pelicans, who lost for the fifth time in six games as they also deal with injuries to several key players, including Zion Williamson.

For the fourth consecutive game, the Warriors fell behind by double digits in the first half – this time by 17 – before rallying. Only this time, they needed two rallies.

After going up by as many as eight in the third quarter, Golden State found itself down 93-89 with 4:46 remaining after McCollum and Ingram hit consecutive hoops.

But DiVincenzo saved his best for when it was needed most, assisting an Anthony Lamb three-pointer, burying a 27-foot triple for his only hoop of the night and turning an offensive rebound into a Kuminga dunk in an 15-3 burst that gave Golden State the lead for good.

Thompson shot 4-for-9 from three-point range on a night when Golden State made just 10 shots in 31 tries from beyond the arc.

Shooting 12-for-12 at the free throw line, Jordan Poole added 18 points to go with a game-high 7 assists for the Warriors, who hope to get Curry back from his leg injury for a Sunday road game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

JaMychal Green (14 points), Lamb (11) and Kevon Looney (10) also scored in double figures for Golden State, with Looney adding a game-high 11 rebounds.

DiVincenzo finished with just 3 points, but found time for 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Trey Murphy III scored 15 points and Naji Marshall had 14 for New Orleans, which had opened a three-game Western swing with a win at Portland on Wednesday.

Herbert Jones aided the visitors’ cause with 7 points, a team-high-tying 5 assists and a game-high-tying 4 steals. – Rappler.com