Buddy Hield stepped up after being promoted to the starting lineup, scoring a team-high 28 points as the short-handed Golden State Warriors came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-106 in the first game of a two-game series on Tuesday night.
The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and De’Anthony Melton, all injured in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. They succeeded mainly due to the performances of new starters Hield, Brandin Podziemski (who scored 19 points), and Moses Moody (who added 17 points).
Lindy Waters III contributed 21 points off the bench. Jonathan Kuminga, who was moved to the bench to boost the second unit’s scoring, also scored 17 points for the Warriors, marking their third win in the first four games of the season.
Zion Williamson led all scorers with 31 points, while Brandon Ingram added 30 for the Pelicans, who had split a similar two-game series at Portland last week.
It took some time for Golden State’s new lineup to find its rhythm, as New Orleans built a 17-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Ingram scored 12 points and Williamson added seven during a strong start that resulted in a 31-14 run.
A three-point play by Williamson on the first possession of the second quarter made the score a 20-point game before Golden State started to make a comeback. The Warriors closed the gap to 51-47 by halftime and then finished the third quarter with a 21-12 run, featuring two 3-pointers from Hield, which turned a one-point deficit into an 87-79 lead.
Playing their third road game in five days, New Orleans never got closer than nine points in the last 11½ minutes.
Hield hit 7 of 11 3-point shots, and Moody made 4 of 5, helping Golden State outscore the Pelicans 63-27 from beyond the arc.
Waters fell just four points short of his career-high and also grabbed eight rebounds. Draymond Green contributed with a game-high seven assists and two of Golden State’s nine blocks.
Williamson scored 12-for-19 and Ingram shot 12-for-17 for the Pelicans, who lost despite shooting 54.1 percent from the field.
Williamson was New Orleans’ leading rebounder with eight, while CJ McCollum had a team-high five assists, along with six rebounds and five points.
