NBA highlights on Jan. 10: Pelicans hand Warriors an ugly home loss

The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Golden State Warriors 141-105 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, giving the opponents their sixth loss out of the past eight games.

The Pelicans shot 54-for-94 from the field, made 19 of their 40 attempts from downtown, scored 46 points in the first quarter and 105 points in the first three periods. Eight of their players got double-digit points. Three of them delivered more than five assists.

The Pelicans have been among the NBA's bottom 10 in 3-point attempts (31, 28th of all 30 teams) and triples made (11.8, 24th) per game this season, but they keep the league's sixth-best 3-point rate of 37.9 percent. That means if the team is given open shots, they are likely to make them.

That's what happened in the first half of Wednesday's game. Seemingly over-concerned by Zion Williamson's offensive threat in the paint, the Warriors closed in hard at the cost of leaving the opponents' shooters open outside. As a result, the Pelicans knocked down 13 triples at 50 percent in the first two quarters.

The Warriors changed their defensive policy by closing out more on the defensive end from the second half, but that led to another consequence they didn't want to see: Jonas Valanciunas was set free. The Lithuanian giant went 7-for-8 in field goals (FGs), all under the hoop, to contribute 15 points for the Pelicans in the third period alone, enabling his side to begin the final quarter with a 22-point lead (105-83).

Losing to the Pelicans was not necessarily the end of the world for the Warriors since they have the weapons of good forward depth as well as destructive power in the paint and shot in a surprisingly massive way behind the arc on Wednesday night. Nonetheless, what should concern the Warriors was the team's lifeless form during the garbage time in the fourth quarter.

It's called "garbage time" because this part of the game usually wouldn't change the final result, but many of the players still work hard on the court because the better stats they have, the more likely they are to sign new deals in the future to stay in the NBA. Moreover, the Warriors' backup players needed to make the game result less ugly so home fans wouldn't be too disappointed.

However, what happened was that the Pelicans' bench players outmatched their Warriors' counterparts in both performance and attitude of play. They moved the ball in a well-trained way and dived for every loose ball instead of playing like they wanted the game to end as soon as possible.

The Warriors are expected to have Draymond Green back within a week. His first job may be to fix their locker room, where there seems to be something seriously wrong.

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Minnesota Timberwolves 120-127 Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum had the chance to end the game with a win for the Celtics during regular time, but his jumper didn't fall. Fortunately for home fans at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, Tatum dominated the court in overtime (OT) by scoring 12 of the team's 16 points. He shot 13-for-26 from the field, drained six triples and made 13 free throws to drop 45 points for the whole game, combining to get 80 points with Jaylen Brown.

Without Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves had to compete with the Celtics in offensive sharpness instead of defensive solidarity. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reed managed to match the opponents' ace duo of Tatum and Brown for three quarters, but none of them could stand out like Tatum did in the fourth period and OT.

Oklahoma City Thunder 128-120 Miami Heat

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Chet Holmgren combined to score 51 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Thunder to beat the Heat at Kaseya Center in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Wednesday. The two could focus on finishing because Jaylen Williams shouldered a big part of playmaking duty with 12 assists.

The Heat managed to keep the game close until the fourth quarter as six of their players reached double-digit points, but when both sides had to beat to breathe due to tough defense, SGA and Holmgren could still make it work with their remarkable individual abilities. The Heat had no such player.

Sacramento Kings 123-98 Charlotte Hornets

San Antonio Spurs 130-108 Detroit Pistons

Washington Wizards 104-112 Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers 132-139 Atlanta Hawks

Houston Rockets 119-124 Chicago Bulls

Denver Nuggets 111-124 Utah Jazz

Toronto Raptors 120-126 Los Angeles Clippers