Without Steph Curry, the Warriors come back to beat the Pelicans

On October 30, 2024By Littum

SAN FRANCISCO — Without Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton, the Warriors’ depth had a chance to prove that this roster is built to withstand absences, as the organization believes.

It took a roundabout way for them to get there, but they proved the theory has merit.

After trailing by 20 points early in the game, the Warriors rallied to win the middle quarters 73 to 48. Buddy Hield scored 25 of his team-high 28 points in the second half. Brandin Podziemski (19 points, five assists, three rebounds) played an excellent floor game. Lindy Waters III dropped 21 points in 30 bench minutes and grabbed a career-high nine boards. And Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the bench, chipped in with 17 points, three rebounds and three assists, leading to a second-half dunk.

Golden State’s defense forced the Pelicans into tough shots — which Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson often made — and a myriad of live-ball turnovers. Golden State recorded 14 steals and forced 22 total turnovers, dominating the possession game.

With five Warriors (3-1) finishing in double figures, the Pelicans were all too predictable. Ingram and Williamson combined for 61 points, but no other Pelican scored more than seven points. Golden State’s depth prevailed with a 124-106 win — the team’s first win at the Chase Center this year.

Golden State started Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis, notably bringing Kuminga off the bench.

“That’s why we have a deep team,” Steve Kerr said before the game. “This is the point. To be able to withstand injuries and absences. Obviously, tonight is pretty extreme. To have two starters out and a guy coming off the bench (out) quickly, that’s pretty rare. We feel that we are built for it, but we have to prove it.”

The Warriors’ starters looked solid defensively, especially Moody guarding Brandon Ingram, but still fell into a quick hole. Kuminga, when he checked in, delivered four quick points, cutting New Orleans’ early lead to 18-14.

But Golden State didn’t score for the rest of the quarter, a 4:52 drought. Kuminga seemed to force the issue at times. The aimless offense allowed the Pelicans to go on a 13-0 run and take a 17-point lead after one period.

Without Curry, Golden State started 5-for-23 from the field and 2-for-13 from behind the arc.

Losing Curry is different than missing any other player. The Warriors’ identity revolves around Curry’s 3-point shooting and constant movement. He is their engine with or without the ball. Golden State went 3-5 without Curry last season and has a record of 84-147 (.364) in games he has missed since entering the league.

Still, the Warriors turned the game around in the second quarter by turning up the defense. Waters provided immediate offense off the bench, scoring nine points in his first 11 minutes. Kuminga settled in after a stuttering start. Golden State collected seven steals in the second quarter alone.

Golden State won the period 33-20. During the comeback, Podziemski showed why the organization covets him. He found Gary Payton II in the corner for the 3 with an extra pass one possession and sank a floater from the elbow in the next. He then jumped a passing lane while playing on-ball defense, dove to the floor for the loose ball and threw an advanced pass upfield off the hardwood for an assist.

When Payton swatted his pass for a fast-break dunk, Podziemski hit the court in celebration. It was one of 15 Pelicans turnovers the Warriors forced, and two of 18 points they scored on said turnovers in the first half.

Waters got the start in the second half, replacing Buddy Hield — who went 1-for-8 in the first two periods. The sharpshooter immediately drilled a 3 to open the third quarter, bringing the Warriors within one.

That lineup had fluid ball movement. One play gave Waters a good look to Moody, who ran a closeout and found Podziemski in the corner, who had replaced him. Later, Waters drilled his third 3 of the game to give the Warriors their first lead since the opening minutes, and Moody sliced the baseline for a layup to force a Pelicans timeout right after.

Moody was open because two Pelicans closed out to Waters in transition. The former Thunder guard had 17 points in as many minutes at the time; The Warriors won those minutes by 13.

When Kuminga checked back into the game, he made a massive impact. The deflection on the defensive end for a lob to Jackson-Davis for a quick dunk was his best play of the season. It was sandwiched by two buckets — a left-handed layup and an off-the-bounce trey.

Hield didn’t thaw to lift the Warriors with a pair of 3s in the waning minutes of the third quarter. Golden State won the third quarter 40-28, completely turned the game around and took an 87-79 lead into the fourth.

Then Hield opened it with a fourth triple and lifted off a dribble. Hield had gone 3-for-18 after his fiery start to the season, but it didn’t take long for him to reheat. He added a 30-footer over New Orleans’ 2-3 zone and a fast break layup off a Waters steal.

With both Hield and Waters sharing the court and shooting like they did Tuesday, the Warriors could viable play Kuminga with both Green and Kyle Anderson.

The Warriors are using the start of the season — and the suboptimal circumstances — to find lineup combinations that work. That group extended their lead. Kuminga’s sliding, two-handed reverse dunk off a steal put the Warriors up 101-88 five minutes into the fourth.

Hield’s sixth triple — a quick-release from the corner off a Waters bucket pass — gave the Warriors a 106-94 lead. His seventh, with 2:43 left, capped an 8-2 run from there and had Curry screaming from the bench.

Every time Ingram or Williamson made a contested shot, Golden State responded. It was a two-headed monster versus a democratized attack.

And as the Warriors theorized, their quality of quantity came out on top.