The Warriors made sure that they didn’t lose their third straight game on Tuesday night. Hours before the game, Stephen Curry tweeted “Alrighty. Time to get back in track. LOCK IN!”
The Warriors’ young star was serious about getting back on track, and the Warriors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 104-93.
It’s possible that the Warriors won because the Pelicans were undermanned. They’re missing two of their star players: Tyreke Evans (sprained left ankle) and Anthony Davis (fractured left hand). It’s possible that the fact that Mark Jackson sparked the victory by publicly challenging his players, saying “I am finding that the guys in the suit and tie want it more than the guys in the uniform.” It’s possible (but unlikely) that they missed me after going for months without me attending a single game…but I believe they won because of Andre Iguodala’s presence in the starting lineup.
After missing 12 games, Andre Iguodala proved how important he is to the young team. The All-Star didn’t contribute much on the stat sheet—he had two points and two assists—but the fact that he was back in the starting lineup gave the Warriors the energy they needed. Iguodala’s only basket was an alley-oop from Curry late in the second quarter, which sent all of ROARACLE to their feet.
Stephen Curry had 28 points and 12 assists and David Lee added 21 points and 17 rebounds in the victory. The Warriors led by as many as 26 points late in the third quarter, and they never trailed the Pelicans during Tuesday’s victory.
Simply put, the Warriors played better than the Pelicans. They dominated at both ends of the court, outshooting the Pelicans 45.1 to 37.5 percent and outrebounding them 58 to 44.
Golden State looked much more similar to the team we saw at the beginning of the season. The playoffs seemed to be slipping away right before the Warriors’ eyes, but with “Iggy” back in the lineup, hopefully the Warriors will be able to keep their high-energy play going for the rest of the season – starting with Thursday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
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