Curry, Thompson, Durant Lead Warriors Past Pelicans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Klay Thomspon scored 31 points, Stephen Curry added 28 and the Golden State Warriors easily erased a 15-point first-half deficit en route to a 128-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Kevin Durant added 22 points for the Warriors, who won for the first time this young season after dropping their opener to Houston. New Orleans is still looking for its first victory after two games, shooting well early in both games before fading in the second half.
Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds for the Pelicans, while fellow big man DeMarcus Cousins also had 35 points.
The teams combined for 34 3-pointers, with the Warriors hitting 18. Thompson was 7 of 12 from deep.
After trailing by double digits much of the fourth quarter, the Pelicans pulled as close as five points down on Cousins' 3 with about three minutes to go. But Thompson responded immediately with a 3, and Golden State remained comfortably in control from there.
New Orleans stormed in front early, thanks to eight 3-pointers in the first quarter. The period closed with a long 3 by each team. Draymond Green hit from 31 feet as the shot clock ran down, then Davis beat the horn from 30 feet, turning after the shot to face the crowd and pound the palm of his right hand into his chest.
Davis' shot put the Pelicans up 39-26, and New Orleans led by as many as 15 when Cousins' free throw made it 57-42 half way through the second quarter.
Golden State then closed out the half with a 19-7 flourish, capped by Durant's 3 that made it 64-61 at halftime. That turned out to be the beginning of a 26-7 run that gave the Warriors their first lead in the third quarter.
TIP INS
Warriors: Curry reached 3,927 assists during the game, passing Tim Hardaway for second place on the franchise's assists list. ... Green finished with 10 points and was assessed a technical foul by official Karl Lane in the second quarter. ... Golden State turned it over 11 times in the first half. ... David West, who was New Orleans' first-round draft choice in 2003 and spent his first eight NBA seasons with the franchise, received polite applause after scoring his first points on a mid-range jumper. He followed that up with a 3-pointer shortly after and finished with 11 points.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Memphis on Saturday night.
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