Golden State did not need long to see what was left. The Warriors scored 35 in the 1st quarter and 37 in the 2nd, so the 72-43 halftime score settled it before the starters' minutes ever became a question. Steph Curry scored 25 points with 5 rebounds on 6-for-10 shooting in under 21 minutes, which tells you how early Steve Kerr pulled him. After the injury news hit, the Pelicans' moneyline drifted out from +300 to +409 before tip, and even that undersold how this went.
Yaxel Lendeborg played like the best player on the floor not named Curry: 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on 8-for-10 shooting. De'Anthony Melton added 16, Bassey had 12 and Cryer had 10. The Warriors shot 55.0% from the field and 50.0% from 3. The shooters the preview said would test a tired defense needed about 1 quarter to do it.
The line score is about as one-sided as a box gets. Golden State won all 4 quarters, including a 40-22 3rd that turned a blowout into a 51-point final. New Orleans topped out at 23 points in a quarter. The defensive problem from the Clippers game came along for the ride, with a 2nd straight opponent scoring at least 138. Pelicans 3-point shooting finished at 30.8%, so the offense that was supposed to keep them in it never got going either.
Clippers123-139
The preview pointed to Golden State's thin guard rotation as the one weak spot, and it did get thinner. Will Richard was still out with the thumb, Gary Payton II sat with a knee issue, and Brandon Williams left with a left hamstring injury after 4 points in 2 minutes. That's worth watching for the next game. Monday's margin was big enough that losing another guard didn't matter.
That makes it 4 straight losses for New Orleans, which is 4-7, and the 139 and 138 allowed in the last 2 games are a bigger worry than any single absence. Golden State is 8-3, and the preview's 'streak game number 8' arrived without much drama. This was the most comfortable win of the run, with Curry done early, a reserve forward going 8-for-10 and the starters fresh for whatever comes next.
