NEW ORLEANS – You have to play a nearly perfect game to beat Golden State, even when they’re not at their best and Sunday the Pelicans played far from a perfect game in falling 118 to 92 and down 3-1 in the series.
Game 5 will be in Oakland on Tuesday night.
The difference in this one was defense by the Warriors. Reverting back to their small lineup, with Draymond Green playing center, Golden State was able to contest nearly every Pelicans shot. And, the Pelicans aided the Warriors’ cause by missing several layups and put backs and never really going on any kind of a run. The Pelicans hit only 38 percent of their shots against the stout Warrior D.
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The claw back from down 17 in the first to 7 at the half came via good Pels defense and several trips to the free throw line and not an offensive run.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 26 points, but he was far from his sharp self, hitting only 8 of 22 shots and having six turnovers to go along with 12 rebounds. E’Twaun Moore had 20 and Jrue Holiday added 19.
Meanwhile Kevin Durant backed in and then out for fadeaway jumpers and drove for short shots in the lane, showing a versatility well beyond the three-point shot. He led the Warriors with 38. Stephen Curry had 23.
The Pelicans did a good job on just about everyone else, but the Warriors were able to get several more layups and dunks than the Pels.