Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors drives toward the rim in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, March 28, 2023. /CFP
The Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 120-109 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, securing a key win in the playoff qualification race in the Western Conference.
The Warriors were looking at a bitter situation at home after they had trailed 63-46 in the first half. The deficit was not too big to overcome, but the team's performance in the first two quarters hardly inspired confidence. They committed 14 of their 19 turnovers during those two periods, allowing the Pelicans to score 20 points via fast breaks.
Draymond Green and Jordan Poole were two of the biggest disappointments on the Warriors' roster in the first half. Poole kept dribbling to the crowd, made poor passes and took bad shots. Green was called a flagrant 1 foul and a technical foul after trying to stop Brandon Ingram in transition at 3:45 in the second period. Twenty seconds later, Green picked up an offensive for after bumping into Herbert Jones. The two got tangled up and Green almost received his second technical, which would have thrown him out of Tuesday's game and cost the Warriors' defense heavily.
Draymond Green (R) of the Golden State Warriors guards Jonas Valanciunas of the New Orleans Pelicans in the game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, March 28, 2023. /CFP
Fortunately for the Warriors, the referees didn't call the second technical on Green after reviewing what happened, allowing him a chance at redemption in the second half. The Warriors began the third quarter with an 8-0 run by intensifying their defensive aggression. When Kevon Looney came to the court off the bench, he grabbed five of his six offensive rebounds in this period alone, enabling his team to take six more shots than the opponents. The Warriors made eight triples in this quarter, seven of which came from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Having cut their deficit from 17 to four points (89-85) in the third period, the Warriors continued their hot pursuit as Green and Poole began to find their groove. Green kept making second passes to facilitate teammates to drain open shots, which translated to six assists by him in the fourth quarter. Poole shot 5-for-7 from the field to contribute 13 points for the Warriors, helping his side outscore the Pelicans 35-20 and seal victory before the final minute.
Jordan Poole (#3) of the Golden State Warriors dunks in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, March 28, 2023. /CFP
Having secured their 40th win of the season, the Warriors rose to sixth in the West. They are half a game above the Minnesota Timberwolves and one game below the fourth-ranking Phoenix Suns. If they finish the regular season as a top six team, the can skip the play-in tournament and avoid unnecessary risks.
The Pelicans failed to extend their winning streak to six games. They are currently eighth in the West, one game behind the seventh-ranking Minnesota Timberwolves and half a game ahead of the ninth-placed Los Angeles Lakers. They were forced into 19 turnovers by the Warriors in Tuesday's game and failed to translate their size advantage into dominance on the court.
Jonas Valanciunas started for the Pelicans, facing Green and Jonathan Kuminga, both of whom have smaller frames than him, during most of his 22 minutes on Tuesday night. However, he only took nine shots and was often shut down by Green when he posted up in the low block. When Valanciunas couldn't crack the Warriors' defense open, his weakness would be capitalized on by Curry in a more painful way for the Pelicans.
Kevon Looney (#5) of the Golden State Warriors drives toward the rim in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, March 28, 2023. /CFP
When the Pelicans put a small squad centered by Larry Nance Jr. in the game, their defensive rotations were not as fast as they should have been, not to mention that they were far from being precise. Instead of cutting the Warriors' ball movement for fast breaks, the Pelicans allowed the opponents to score 74 points at a field goal (FG) rate of 54 percent in addition to 21 assists with only five turnovers. The Pelicans had only two fast break points in the second half compared with the 20 they got the same way in the first half.
Other games on Tuesday (away teams come first):
Kristaps Porzingis (#6) of the Washington Wizards shoots in the game against the Boston Celtics at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2023. /CFP
Boston Celtics 111-130 Washington Wizards
It is a rarity this season for the Celtics to not blame a poor Jayson Tatum offensive performance for an unexpected loss. Tatum made 11 of his 19 attempts to score 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists, all team highs, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, but coach Joe Mazzulla decided to throw in the towel when there were over nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter, when their team trailed 107-85.
The Wizards are basically out of the postseason qualification race in the Eastern Conference since they are 2.5 games from the 10th Chicago Bulls with only six games to go. Nonetheless, the team still fought hard at home to upset the East's No. 2 thanks to incredible performances by Kristaps Porzingis and Deni Avdija, who combined to drop 57 points, 24 rebounds and 11 assists.
Donovan Mitchell (#45) of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots in the game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia,, March 28, 2023. /CFP
Cleveland Cavaliers 118-120 Atlanta Hawks
Tuesday's game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, could have been a perfect milestone for Donovan Mitchell's career. He went 15-for-33 from the field to score 44 points, becoming the first of the 2017 NBA Draft class to reach 10,000 points and the fastest player to get 10,000 points and 1,000 3-pointers after doing so in 410 games.
Mitchell sprained his ankle in the fourth quarter but still got 17 points for the Cavaliers to wipe out a 14-point deficit. He drained a triple to cut the deficit to one point (119-118) when there were 55 seconds left. Unfortunately, he missed two shots from downtown in the rest of the game. The Cavaliers' loss enabled the Milwaukee Bucks to clinch the Eastern Conference Central Division title in advance.
P.J. Washington (#25) of the Charlotte Hornets drives toward the rim in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 28, 2023. /CFP
Charlotte Hornets 137-134 Oklahoma City Thunder
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign, the Hornets became the biggest headache for the West's teams that are still battling for a postseason berth as they secured three straight wins, all over teams from the West. P.J. Washington went 16-for-24 to drop a court-high 43 points for the Hornets at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, throwing a punch at the Thunder that cannot afford to lose at this moment.
The Thunder rested their best player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Tuesday's game. Isaiah Joe, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams had 33, 31 and 31 points, respectively, for the team. Giddey was one assist away from scoring a triple-double. However, they didn't receive enough support from the rest of the team. The Thunder are currently 10th in the West and share the same record of 37-39 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Miami Heat 92-106 Toronto Raptors
Orlando Magic 108-113 Memphis Grizzlies