3 things to know: Warriors miss chance to sweep back-to-back vs. Pelicans after faltering late, 108-103
After registering a victory in the first run of a two-game series against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, the Golden State Warriors had the opportunity for a sweep on Tuesday night.
After a back and forth contest that featured a bevy of lead changes, the Warriors gripped to a six-point advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the contest. However, a cold performance down the stretch from Steph Curry and company saw the Warriors’ lead disappear. In the final minutes, clutch buckets from Lonzo Ball helped push the Pelicans past the Warriors, 108-103.
Despite finishing the contest with a game-high 37 points, Curry struggled late, scoring only two points in the fourth quarter on 1-of-7 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 from long distance.
Following their last road trip of the season, the Warriors will return to Chase Center for the final six games of the 2020-21 campaign.
Lonzo Ball
On Tuesday, the Warriors had no answer for Lonzo Ball. After a rough performance with only seven points on 3-of-18 shooting from the field with four turnovers in 38 minutes, Ball bounced back to carry the Pelicans in part two of the back-to-back.
The New Orleans point guard dueled with Curry, scoring a team-high 33 points on 11-of-23 with six rebounds and four assists. Ball got hot from long distance, drilling seven triples on 13 attempts from deep.
Lights out
With the Warriors leading by six in the third quarter, the game came to an unexpected stop. As Curry lined up to launch another triple, the lights at the Smoothie King Center shut off. Teams have been creative when it comes to guarding Golden State’s two-time Most Valuable Player, but turning off the lights is a new and unique game plan.
Via @NBCSWarriors on Twitter:
New way of defending Steph Curry… turn the lights off 😂 pic.twitter.com/ia9Fp5hSQ7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 5, 2021
Andrew Wiggins
After scoring 26 points in the opening contest of the back-to-back in New Orleans, Andrew Wiggins doubled down on Tuesday night. The veteran wing tallied another 26 point performance on 10-of-21 shooting from the field with five triples.
Wiggins added six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 39 minutes against the Pelicans. With Kelly Oubre Jr. dealing with a wrist injury, the Warriors will need to lean on Wiggins as a secondary scorer alongside Curry down the stretch.
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