Pelicans at Warriors
Just when it looked like the Golden State Warriors were finding their groove on both ends of the floor, they went out and looked lost in a curious setback at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Warriors will show off the effects of a weekend of practices when they play the first of two straight at home by hosting the winless New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
Golden State beat Portland and Oklahoma City - two teams that made the playoffs last season - by a combined 49 points before suffering a 117-97 defeat against the Lakers, who posted the worst record in the Western Conference last season. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson might go down as the greatest shooting backcourt in history and certainly put up numbers in that regard the last few seasons but are both off to slow starts as the team integrates Kevin Durant into the flow of the offense. While the Warriors have four stars surrounded by role players, the Pelicans only have one star in power forward Anthony Davis, and he is struggling to drag his team into the win column. New Orleans took each of its last two opponents to overtime only to fall, including a last-second shot that doomed it to a 112-111 setback at home against Phoenix on Friday.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (0-6): Davis put up 45 points and 17 rebounds when the Warriors visited New Orleans on Oct. 28 but the Pelicans still fell 122-114. Lance Stephenson added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists off the bench in that loss but won't be available to help Davis in the near future after suffering a groin injury in Friday's loss that will require surgery. Stephenson joins Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter as perimeter players unavailable to Davis and the Pelicans.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (4-2): Curry went 0-for-10 from 3-point range on Friday to snap a string of 157 regular season games with at least one made 3-pointer and is shooting 35.2 percent from beyond the arc on the season. Thompson is enduring an even worse slump from behind the arc, shooting 19.6 percent after a 2-of-10 effort against the Lakers actually brought the percentage up. "Not making shots," Thompson told ESPN. "I'm not going to panic, playing like crap. It's November so I'm not going to panic. I had a bad start last year, too. That's all I got for you."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Golden State reserve F Kevon Looney is getting a bump in minutes of late and is 7-of-7 from the floor in the last two games.
2. Pelicans G Tim Frazier posted 21 points and 10 assists in the Oct. 28 loss to the Warriors.
3. Golden State took the last eight in the series, going back to a first-round sweep in the 2015 playoffs.