OAKLAND – Overhead minutes after the final buzzer of Game 1 was a national media member pontificating that even if New Orleans were to play significantly better in Game 2, it still wouldn’t be a close game, because Golden State is just vastly superior. Furthermore, two-time MVP Stephen Curry was expected to return to the lineup. Locally, between games Mercury News columnist Dieter Kurtenbach wrote that “the Warriors don’t need Curry to beat the Pelicans in an efficient manner.”
That smug dismissiveness of the Pelicans and why-even-play-this-game outlook only increased during the 72-year hour timeframe leading up to tip-off of Game 2 – but it gradually evaporated when the teams played a very even game, despite the hosts receiving a big boost from Curry’s comeback (28 points in 27 minutes).