Warriors at Pelicans
The Golden State Warriors put up the best road record in the NBA this season at 28-13, but the most recent of those 13 setbacks came at New Orleans on Apr. 7. The Pelicans will try to turn that trick again and climb back in the series when they host the top-seeded Warriors in Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference series on Thursday.
New Orleans was surprisingly pesky in the first two games of the series but did not have quite enough to get over the hump in the fourth quarter of either contest and heads home in an 0-2 hole. “Hopefully for the fans watching (Game 2), our crowd can be like (the boisterous Warriors home crowd),” Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans told reporters. “When we’ve got our crowd behind us, we’re going to perform, play hard and do a good job.” New Orleans went 28-13 in its own arena during the regular season but Golden State won’t be intimidated. Warriors star Stephen Curry poured in 56 points in the first two games and averaged 25.5 points on the road in the regular season.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), Fox Sports New Orleans
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Curry took control early in each of the first two games while fellow “splash brother” Klay Thompson put in the work late to hold off fourth-quarter rallies, but the consistent work on both ends from Draymond Green allowed Golden State to thrive. The undersized power forward posted a double-double in each of the first two games while battling New Orleans star Anthony Davis on the defensive end. “When we need something emotionally, it’s my job to step up,” Green told reporters. “That’s what makes this team great. Everyone has a role. Vocal leader, emotional leader. That’s my role.”
ABOUT THE PELICANS: New Orleans is counting on the home crowd to give it the boost down the stretch that was missing in the first two games. “We're going back home,'' Davis told reporters. ''Everything that (we went) through (in Golden State), they're going to go through in New Orleans. The crowd will be on our side, so they're going to be in the same predicament. Just how they capitalize, we have to capitalize.” Evans was questionable for Game 2 after suffering a knee injury in Game 1 but ended up playing 41 minutes and ended up contributing 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pelicans G Eric Gordon is 9-of-17 from 3-point range in the series.
2. Golden State C Andrew Bogut is averaging 14 rebounds in the series.
3. New Orleans G Jrue Holiday (leg) sat out Game 2 and is questionable for Thursday.