On the second night of their first back-to-back of the season, the Warriors won their third straight road game of the early campaign Monday night at Smoothie King Center, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 130-102.
The Warriors didn’t win three straight road games once all last season.
Steph Curry came out of the gates on fire and never looked back. He scored 42 points on 22 shots in only 30 minutes. Pelicans fans haven’t seen Curry since May of 2021, and the Warriors superstar reminded them all what it’s like to watch him put on a show.
Moses Moody received a spot start and continued his strong start to the season. Moody was a plus-18 in 21 minutes and scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The Warriors were without Klay Thompson (knee soreness) and Jonathan Kuminga (knee contusion). Golden State plays next on Wednesday night against the Kings at Chase Center.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ blowout win:
Draymond vs. Zion
Draymond Green and Zion Williamson both stand 6-foot-6, but play much bigger than their height. Williamson, 10 years younger than the 33-year-old Green, also has a weight advantage of at least 50 pounds over the Warriors forward. Soon after the opening tip, the two were battling down low in a matchup of physicality.
Williamson is sure to put up points, but it was a much different game for him when Green was on the floor compared to Dario Saric. Green with eight-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter absorbed Williamson’s power and baited him into an offensive foul. A little under two minutes later, Green begged Zion to shoot a wide-open 3-pointer.
He airballed it.
The game got out of hand when the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 39-27 in the third quarter to lead by 20 going into the fourth. And Williamson was held scoreless. In seven-plus minutes he was called for two fouls, had two turnovers and missed his only two shot attempts. Williamson finished with 19 points, but only six in the second half and 10 after the first quarter.
He was a minus-17. On the other side, Green was a plus-6 in 22 minutes behind six points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Big Easy Steph
Should fans in New Orleans be happy or sad after the Warriors’ win over the Pelicans? If they came to see Curry, they have plenty of reasons to smile.
Curry missed both of the Warriors’ games in New Orleans each of the last two seasons, but suited up this time on the second night of a back-to-back. The wait was worth it, at least for the Warriors. Curry scored 11 points in the first four minutes of the game, and 16 of the Warriors’ first 18.
He only scored two points in the second quarter, but was back to stacking points in the third. Curry added 12 points in the frame, giving him 30 going into the final quarter. The Warriors were sloppy to begin the fourth quarter with Curry on the bench, and he then immediately scored eight points in under two minutes to give Golden State a 24-point lead.
Through the first four games of the season, Curry now is averaging 33.5 points on 55.8 percent shooting and 47.1 percent on 3-pointers.
Rookie Opportunities
The Warriors already have a thinner roster than most with only 13 active players. Having Thompson and Kuminga in street clothes forced coach Steve Kerr to dig into his depth even earlier than usual. Second-round draft pick Trayce Jackson-Davis came in at the 5:13 mark, and first-round pick Brandin Podziemski made his regular-season debut with a little more than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Neither wasted any time. Podziemski handed out two assists in two-plus minutes, and Jackson-Davis showcased his force on an explosive dunk, finishing a pick-and-roll off two feet.
Podziemski already had four rebounds in eight first-half minutes and was a plus-6 headed to the locker room. His activity was evident and Podziemski always seems to find himself around the ball.
Both rookies should be flying home on cloud nine. Podziemski played 23 minutes and was a plus-15 with eight rebounds, which was second on the Warriors. Jackson-Davis led the Warriors by tallying 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.