Warriors at Pelicans
The Golden State Warriors are dealing with a three-game losing streak and questions about the depth of their roster with Andre Iguodala out of the lineup. The Warriors will look to get back to their high-scoring ways when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. The Pelicans had a three-game winning streak come to a screeching halt in San Antonio on Monday, shooting 38.1 percent in a 112-93 setback.
New Orleans averaged 114.7 points during its winning streak but fell behind by 30 points early in the fourth quarter in San Antonio and had trouble getting anything going from beyond the arc. The perimeter is usually where Golden State thrives, though the injury to Iguodala robs the Warriors of one of their most potent outside threats. “We have built-in excuses to lose games because we have injuries, but every team goes through injuries, so we need to find a way to respond,” Golden State center Andrew Bogut said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (8-6): Golden State is suffering at both ends without Iguodala and is working Stephen Curry back in after a two-game absence due to a mild concussion. Coach Mark Jackson felt the struggles on offense started to affect the other end in a 113-101 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. “We were just bad, just bad,” Jackson said. “I thought there were some times where we let our inability to make shot affect the way we defended. That’s not who we are.” Iguodala is out indefinitely with a strained hamstring and backup point guard Toney Douglas remains out with a stress fracture in his leg.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (6-7): Each of the last three victories took place at home, and New Orleans forgot to bring that momentum to San Antonio on Monday. The Pelicans will get the Warriors at home before going back out for three on the road, where they have dropped four straight. Jrue Holiday (12 points) and Anthony Davis (10) were the only two starters to reach double figures against the Spurs but Ryan Anderson continued his strong play off the bench with 17 points and is averaging 18.8 points on 52 percent shooting in four games since returning to the lineup.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors took each of the four meetings last season by an average of 10.5 points.
2. Holiday went 6-for-17 from the floor on Monday, snapping a string of four straight games hitting at least half of his shots.
3. Bogut will miss the contest serving a one-game suspension for his role in an altercation during the Portland game.