OAKLAND, Calif. (WGNO) – After a valiant effort in the Golden State on Saturday night, the Pelicans followed up with yet another strong outing against the Warriors, but once again fell short by a score of 97-87. The series will shift to New Orleans for the next two games, where the Pelicans desperately need wins in front of the home crowd.
Going into the game the Pelicans had a huge task at hand, defeating the Warriors at Oracle Arena, something that only two NBA teams have done this season. The Warriors are now an incredible 41-2 while playing at home this regular and postseason.
Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon led the charge for the Pelicans, with 26 points from Davis and 23 and 5 three-pointers from Gordon. The Pelicans started off hot, leading 28-17 after the first quarter, but the Warriors would come storming back to lead by three at halftime. It was the scoring of All-Star guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson that carried the Warriors past the Pelicans in the end, Curry having 22 points and Thompson scoring 26.
The game’s biggest plays were when with under two minutes remaining and the Pelicans down by six, Eric Gordon missed a wide open three pointer after being hot all game, and Klay Thompson scored on a three-point play at the other end to put the Warriors up by nine. Eric Gordon then turned the ball over on the next possession, leading to an easy Andrew Bogut dunk and a double-digit Warriors lead with under a minute left.
The Pelicans have a two-day rest before returning home to New Orleans for game three on Thursday. Thursday’s game will be a must-win game not only because it’s a playoff game, but because in the history of the NBA, no playoff team has come back to win a series after being down 3-0. However despite being down 2-0 there is still clearly a bright future for this team, facing against the NBA’s best team nobody expected them to win, but they are definitely giving the Warriors a first round scare.
