Warriors put on defensive clinic, sweep Pelicans

The Warriors have won back-to-back games in emphatic fashion.

When the shorthanded Golden State Warriors crushed the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, it came after an awful first quarter. The Dubs turned things on after that quarter, and apparently they didn’t turn things off when the game ended.

The Warriors and Pelicans met again on Wednesday night, for the “baseball series” that we’re all still getting used to. And Golden State picked up right where they left off, even with Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and De’Anthony Melton once again sidelined.

With Lindy Waters III in the starting lineup, the Warriors spacing got good looks early on, even though the shots weren’t initially falling. But the Warriors set the pace on the defensive end, with Moses Moody putting the clamps on Brandon Ingram, while Draymond Green completely shut down Zion Williamson. The Pelicans repeatedly tried to run the offense through Williamson, but to no avail. Eventually the defense started to lead to offense, as the Warriors found some rhythm. They turned the ball over five times in the frame, but still led 28-20 when the buzzer sounded.

After scoring the first four points of the second quarter to take a commanding 32-20 lead, the Dubs took their foot off the gas, and the Pelicans rattled off a 10-run, forcing a Steve Kerr timeout. The timeout initially did little, as the run turned into a 16-2 New Orleans advantage, with the Pelicans re-taking the lead. The Dubs weren’t going down without a fight though, as they ground the game to a half with elite defensive possession after elite defensive possession. The teams went back and forth, with a Buddy Hield buzzer-beating three giving Golden State a 48-44 advantage at the break.

And then the Third Quarter Warriors showed up. Once again riding an elite defensive performance by Green against Williamson, the Warriors opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run, building up a comfortable lead. And from there they never looked back. The defense was forcing bad shot after bad shot, and turnover after turnover, and they held a comfortable 79-66 lead entering the final frame.

Golden State pitched a shutout for more than two minutes to start the fourth quarter, even though their own offense wasn’t doing much. Soon the 13-point lead became a 16-point lead, and then that became a 20-point lead as the end result became more and more clear. New Orleans made a late push, but never got closer than 12 points, and the Warriors wrapped up a 104-89 win to sweep the series, and start the season 4-1.

Hield paced the way with 21 points, but it was a total team effort, especially on the defensive side of things. A day after allowing Williamson and Ingram to score 61 points, the Warriors — led by Green, Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga — limited those two All-Stars to a combined 26 points on 10-for-31 shooting, with six turnovers. With CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and Trey Murphy III all injured, New Orleans simply didn’t have the offensive firepower to match Golden State’s fantastic defensive showing.

With a brilliant first week of the season in the books, the Warriors now head off for a tough test. They get two rest days before kicking off a five-game road trip, which begins on Saturday against the Houston Rockets, and features a stop against the defending champion Boston Celtics, as well as arguably the best team in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Hopefully Curry, Wiggins, and Melton return for those games. And hopefully the Dubs keep the good times rolling.