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Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Game 4 Live Updates, Score and Highlights for 2018 NBA Playoffs
Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans, LA
Kevin Durant scored 38 points as he led the Golden State Warriors to an easy 118-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinal series. Golden State now leads the series 3-1. The Warriors got out to a 15-point lead after the first quarter and continued to contain the Pelicans all afternoon, holding New Orleans to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 15.4 percent from three-point range in the contest. Anthony Davis did have 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Pelicans, but he also committed six turnovers.
The Golden State Warriors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 118-92 in a dominating fashion to take a 3-1 series lead heading back to Oakland for Game 5.
Kevin Durant was the story of the game as he couldn’t be stopped by anyone the Pelicans threw at him. He’d lead all scorers with 38 points and kept the boat sturdy during stretches when other Warriors struggled to find a rhythm.
As a team however, the Warriors put forth one of their more complete performances this series totaling 28 assists to 11 turnovers, and racking up 11 steals in an all-around terrific defensive display.
Anthony Davis was held to 8-for-22 shooting and Rajon Rondo was bottled up, only being able to deliver 6 assists while turning the ball over 4 times.
The Warriors can close this series out on Tuesday at Oracle.
An opening blitz for the boys in blue and gold
The Warriors wasted no time in course correcting their mistakes from Game 3 by dominating the Pelicans throughout the first quarter.
Durant tallied 10 points to lead the team, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson made two 3-pointers a piece, and the team combined for 37 points on 60% shooting and 12 assists.
Probably not a good idea to leave Steph this wide open. pic.twitter.com/qNcGc846Fo — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 6, 2018
Defensively, the Warriors locked in and held the Pelicans to only 22 points on 28% shooting. The 9 free throws they got and converted kept this from being a complete annihilation through the first 12 minutes.
Steve Kerr’s decision to start with the Hampton’s Five paid off dividends. But even Quinn Cook and Jordan Bell, who got some burn towards the end of the quarter, made some great contributions off the bench.
Quinn Cookin' up a little coast to coast. pic.twitter.com/Du3T4A6wes — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 6, 2018
Pelicans storm back
The second quarter saw a huge swing in New Orleans favor as they outscored the Warriors 32-24, cutting Golden State’s lead to 7 going into halftime.
This had partly to do with the law of averages beginning to kick in for both teams when it came to shooting from the field. But the growing disparity in free throws also helped the Pelicans close the gap by disrupting any momentum the Warriors would try to build.
Things got a bit chippy as Draymond Green picked up his first technical of the postseason after a no-call on a possible charge call he tried to draw against Anthony Davis.
Dray gets T'd up after not getting the charge call. pic.twitter.com/ljWm8CXA9W — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 6, 2018
The highlight of the quarter was Cook continuing to give the team quality minutes off the bench as he upped his total to 8 points in 8 minutes.
A classic Warriors second half
Despite the Pelicans making their run in the second quarter, the Warriors came back from halftime unfazed and pulled off one of those third quarter blazing runs.
Durant was simply unstoppable baby, eviscerating the Pelicans by simply shooting over the outstretched arms of Jrue Holiday. Even after the Pelicans decided to switch Davis onto Durant, he couldn’t be bothered to miss.
KD with the right in AD's face. pic.twitter.com/jPy7xdSmyy — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 6, 2018
His scoring was critical as even though Curry had 23 points, he still looked like he was trying to regain some of his legs and rhythm. Thompson was also a bit on the cold side, especially from deep.
Whenever the Pelicans would try to string a run together, Durant answered back with a timely bucket to cut that momentum.
Meanwhile our defense continued to play excellent and the referee whistles cooled off.
The starters ended up getting some rest in the fourth with the bench squad closing out the last several minutes of the game.
The Warriors have moved within a single victory of advancing to the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Pelicans 118-92 in Game 4 on Sunday. Golden State got off to a great start, building a double-digit lead within the first four minutes, as the Dubs would never trail at any point in the contest. Kevin Durant was unstoppable at times and finished with a personal 2018 postseason-high 38 points to lead all scorers, in addition to collecting nine rebounds and five assists. Stephen Curry added 23 points and four three-pointers, while Draymond Green just missed another triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
TEAM LEADERS GSW NOP Points Points Durant - 38 Davis - 26 Curry - 23 Moore - 20 Thompson - 13 Holiday - 19
Rebounds Rebounds Durant / Green - 9 Davis - 12 Thompson / Iguodala - 7 Mirotic / Rondo - 11 Cook - 4 Holiday - 7
Assists Assists Green - 9 Rondo - 6 Iguodala - 6 Holiday / Clark - 3 Durant - 5 Mirotic - 2 Stats | Highlights | Photo Gallery
SECRET WEAPON
Steve Kerr has used the lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green at various times throughout his tremendously successful tenure as Warriors Head Coach, but never once had that fivesome been used to start a game…until Sunday. Coming off a humbling defeat in Game 3, Kerr went to his secret weapon to begin Game 4, and that decision turned out to be a great one as the Dubs started the contest firing on all cylinders. Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis alternated scores on the first four baskets of the game, after which Golden State went on a 13-0 run to lead 17-4 midway through the first frame. Over that span, Durant made all three field goals he attempted, while both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson knocked down a three-pointer. The fast start proved critical to the Warriors’ victory, as the Pelicans were never able to dig themselves out of the hole it created. New Orleans closed within four points with just over a minute remaining in the first half, but never crested the hill, as Golden State maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the vast majority of the final two quarters.
DURANT'S DOMINANCE
Time and time again on Sunday, when the Warriors needed a basket, Kevin Durant was there to provide one. Try as they might, the Pelicans couldn’t seem to come up with an answer for Golden State’s prolific scorer, no matter which player was defending him. Durant got off to that fast start and totaled 10 points in each of the game’s first two quarters before adding another 13 in the third frame. He’d add another five points at the start of the fourth before sitting out the remainder of the game with the victory well in hand to finish with 38 points, the most he’s scored in a game this postseason. He’s now scored at least 22 points in all nine Warriors’ playoff games thus far.
3RD QUARTER...AGAIN
While Golden State opened up a big early lead, you have to give the Pelicans credit for clawing their way back into the game in the second quarter, which came to a close with the Dubs holding a 61-54 advantage. Once again, however, the Warriors would break the game open with a dominant third quarter. A Durant dunk followed by an Iguodala three-pointer within the first 66 seconds of the second half rebuilt Golden State’s lead to double digits, and the Dubs never looked back from there. After outscoring their opponents by an NBA-best 371 points in the third quarter during the regular season, the Warriors outscored the Pelicans by a 33-19 margin in the third frame on Sunday, their best third quarter point differential this postseason.
CURRY MILESTONES
Stephen Curry might just own every three-point record there is when all is said and done, and he moved one step closer to that on Sunday by making four of his nine three-point attempts to pass Manu Ginobli for third place on the NBA’s all-time threes list. Sunday’s game was also Curry’s 78th career playoff game, passing Jeff Mullins (77) for the third-most postseason games played in Warriors history, trailing only Klay Thompson (90) and Draymond Green (89).
Steph with the 3...while falling down
#NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/va2YBQKl3o — Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 6, 2018
UP NEXT
The Warriors will attempt to close out the series with New Orleans when they host the Pelicans at Oracle Arena in Game 5 on Tuesday night. FIND TICKETS
One of the Golden State Warriors’ people, walking out of Smoothie King Center Sunday, summarized the team’s season so far in detailing Kevin Durant’s 38-point performance against the Pelicans in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“Sometimes, people forget,” he said, a wry smile on his face -- and, yes, they do.
With all that has gone on around the league this season, the Warriors’ storyline hasn’t been quite as eyeballed nationally this season compared with previous years. (Not that they should care. It’s just an observation.)
Kevin Durant dominated in a Game 4 win against the Pelicans.
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew things up last summer and reformed in the fall, blew it up again in the winter and reformed again in the spring. The Boston Celtics are displaying amazing resilience through seemingly devastating injuries to put themselves on the brink of another conference finals. The Philadelphia 76ers have their Fun Bunch. There was Paul George’s trade to Oklahoma City (and all that entailed, now and later) and the Toronto Raptors’ dramatic and successful changes throughout the year. And, at the forefront, there was the Houston Rockets’ rise as a legit and serious challenger to the Warriors in the Western Conference.
During the regular season, the Warriors’ energy and productivity dropped off ever so slightly, like the planet killer in “The Doomsday Machine,” one of the all-time best original “Star Trek” episodes, after the doomed Commodore Decker drove a Shuttlecraft right down its throat. (Of course, Captain Kirk figured out to destroy it. Dude, come on. This is James Tiberius Kirk we’re talking about.)
And at the end of the regular season, they were hit with a series of body shot injuries: Stephen Curry’s MCL strain, Durant’s ribs, Klay Thompson’s thumb injury, Draymond Green’s hip, and on and on. Those all sapped their continuity and made them look mortal down the stretch of the 2017-18 season, and the Warriors went 7-10 as the season waned.
But, after dispatching the Kawhi Leonard-less Spurs in five games in the first round, and taking a 3-1 lead on the Pelicans now, they’re again on the precipice of the Western Conference finals. A date with Houston is looming and a chance at a third title in four seasons is still on their racket.
“I think as the playoffs go on, every series requires a different intensity level,” Green said last week. “I think we met that standard that it takes to win playoff games at the level we’re at right now, which is the second round. It’s not our first rodeo. We’ve been here a lot of times and we know what it takes.”
The "Hampton 5" lineup had its way in a Game 4 romp vs. New Orleans.
Steve Kerr rolled the “Hamptons Five” lineup out Sunday, the Lineup Formally Known as Death -- Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Green and Durant. It’s been their trump card for almost two years, the lineup that can’t be solved by the opposition, even as it’s chipped away at most of Golden State’s other conventional units. Durant went for 38, and the Warriors rolled to a 118-92 win and a 3-1 series lead.
They didn’t use it much this season -- that quintet only played 127 minutes together this season, after logging 224 minutes last season -- because of all the injuries, because they tried to limit their biggest players’ minutes and because using Iguodala as a starter thins out Golden State’s bench. The Warriors’ most frequently used five-man unit this season featured Zaza Pachulia at center; among five-man units leaguewide that played 200 minutes or more together this season, per NBA.com/Stats, that quintet was third in the league in Offensive Rating, at 118.6.
But Pachulia hasn’t played a minute in the playoffs, and if the Rockets are the Warriors’ next opponent, he may not play much then, either, against Clint Capela.
Kerr often points out that the Warriors have six centers on the current roster, and most of them have gotten at least a little run at various points. But after JaVale McGee was ineffective in Game 3 against New Orleans Friday, Kerr pulled his trump card. It’s still a game-changer, and when a season comes down to a best-of-seven series, one game can be the difference.
The Warriors are slowly finding their groove as the 2018 playoffs roll along.
“We all bring the best of each other,” Curry said of the Hamptons unit. “We increase the pace of the game, but the versatility (is) at the defensive end -- Andre, Draymond, KD shoring up the paint, switching a lot of the screens and the action from the offense and Klay doing what he does on the perimeter. I think the biggest thing offensively is that we’re all playmakers, try to look for the best shot, stay within ourselves and just make the right play.”
Going back to the old playlist may give the Warriors comfort in what has been another drama-filled season, with the contretemps about being disinvited from the White House by President Trump in September getting things off to a rollicking start. But the end of the season was what raised eyebrows around the league.
Curry’s absence down the stretch combined with a teamwide ennui -- “I really don’t like talking about it,” Thompson said -- that gave potential playoff opponents hope they might be able to catch Golden State napping.
Before the 2018 playoffs began, some thought the Warriors were vulnerable.
The Warriors’ boredom showed up most at the defensive end. After being in the top seven in both unadjusted and adjusted Defensive Rating in each of the last four seasons -- including first in the league in both categories in the first championship season of 2014-15 -- Golden State fell to 11th and 12th, respectively, in the regular season.
They came out of the All-Star break focused -- they were fifth in the league in Defensive Rating on March 1. But all the injuries blunted their momentum, and the scariest of all -- a serious injury to second-year guard Patrick McCaw in Sacramento March 31 -- shook the team more than people on the outside realized.
“Throughout that time, we had spurts,” Durant said. “We played a great OKC team. We went in there and won. Then we lost to Indiana by 20, and then it’s like, when you’re riding just on emotion a lot, you tend to go up and down. It’s like a roller coaster. I think that’s what it was. We had those spurts where we played well and played a focused game, but then Patty goes out, boom, and there was just so much that went on with that. Then Steph goes out with a freak injury. So much went on with that. I think we were just so up and down emotionally it kind of blinded us from our goal, which was to be good every single night as basketball players.”
McCaw’s injury -- a bone bruise suffered when he fell after a dunk attempt against the Kings, which required him to be carried off the court in Sacramento on a stretcher -- hit everyone hard.
Patrick McCaw's injury in late March left the Warriors feeling rattled.
“When Pat got injured, I think that took a little bit out of us,” Durant said. “It took a little bit out of Steve as well. You could just feel it, when Steph went out, then I went out, then Draymond, then Klay. Our emotions were so up and down. When your emotions are, you have too many emotions in the game of basketball, it can kind of blind you from what you really have to do. This is a technical game. So when you put too many emotions into it, it kind of took us away from what we wanted to do.”
McCaw, who played in 57 games this season, was not only a part of Kerr’s rotation. He is also a well-liked person who was getting better on the floor. He was re-evaluated last week and will be checked out again in a month. Though he’s been traveling with the team during the playoffs, his season is almost certainly over. And as his injury came during the Warriors’ many injuries down the stretch, its chilling effect was multiplied.
“It definitely got to everybody,” Green said. “Kind of the uncertainty of not knowing what’s going on with him. The rotations. Everybody’s like, ahh, kind of tiptoeing around, trying to make sure you get to the playoffs healthy. A lot of that makes a difference. I mean, that’s our brother. To see him down like that, not be able to walk off the court under his own power, him not being around us for two or three weeks, it was kind of like the unknown. It sucked. And I think it definitely had an effect on everything.”
