How Draymond Green’s halftime announcement sparked Warriors’ comeback win – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

On By Littum

While several Warriors players who lit up the stat sheet will get credit for Tuesday’s 124-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, a halftime speech from Draymond Green may have been the real catalyst for their comeback at the Chase Center.

Trailing 51-47 when the second-quarter buzzer sounded, Green’s message to Golden State was clear: Apply pressure and good things will happen.

“In the first half, we came out a little sluggish,” Warriors guard Gary Payton II told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Zena Keita after the game. “The second half, Draymond challenged us to come out and hit them first. We could see in the second quarter what happens when we attack and are aggressive – things start to change. …

“(Draymond) knows this team very well and once we put pressure on them and make them make quick decisions, bad things happen and good things tend to happen for us.”

The Warriors struggled in the first quarter and the Pelicans took an early 31-14 lead into the second. With Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton all sidelined Tuesday with injuries, it looked like the game might be a lost cause.

But the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 110-75 over the final three quarters and, according to Green, held a 22-point advantage over New Orleans in the second half, thanks in part to Buddy Hield’s 25 points in the third and fourth quarters 8 of 10 -shooting with six 3-pointers.

Brandin Podziemski (19 points) and Lindy Waters III (21 points) were Golden State’s other top scorers. Green, meanwhile, finished with three points, seven assists and three rebounds as a plus-15 — with a very important address in the locker room.

“It all starts with Draymond,” forward Jonathan Kuminga told Keita. “Draymond came into the locker room and told us all, ‘They look good right now, but once we put pressure on them, they’re all going to fade.’ And that’s the same thing that happened. You saw it. We all came out here with one mindset, and just put pressure on the defense.

“He said, ‘As long as we put pressure on the defense, the offense will be easy.’ So that’s what we came out here and (did).”

Green’s veteran leadership was on display in the Warriors’ third win of the 2024-25 NBA season, only reinforcing how important the four-time champion is to Golden State’s success.

And when Green and Co. are seeking a return to the NBA playoffs, moments like his speech tonight can certainly help them achieve that goal.

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