On April 13, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA regular season was in full swing, and a Western focus battle began, with the Golden State Warriors hosting the New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors have been on a hot streak lately, winning nine of their last 10 games, and once overtook the Lakers to move up to ninth place in the West after a wave of three straight wins. The Pelicans have also won three straight games recently, and are currently in sixth place in the West with 48 wins and 32 losses. However, the rankings are not stable, and the Suns behind them are only one win behind. Therefore, this game is very crucial for both teams, the Warriors need to regain the 9th place in the West, and the Pelicans need a win to consolidate the top 6 positions and go straight to the playoffs.
In the first quarter, both teams defended at playoff level and did a very good job of protecting the basket. The Pelicans created a lot of opportunities inside and outside this quarter, but they had a mediocre touch, making only 1 of 7 shots. All the inside shots were in the Warriors' restricted area, but they encountered strong restrictions and frequently hit the iron, and they scored a total of 5 goals, and the whole team scored 17 points in a single quarter! The Warriors were also inaccurate on the outside, shooting 2 of 8. He also hit the basket frequently, but got more free throws. At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors led by 9 points at 26-17;
In the second quarter, the situation changed abruptly, it was the turn of the Warriors to play crazy iron, and the Pelicans seized the opportunity to open up the point difference in a wave! In this quarter, the Warriors did not shoot many outside shots, only 3 of 4, but the inside line was dumb, shooting a total of 5 balls, and the Pelicans did a good job in restricting the Warriors' outside shots and protecting the basket in this section; while doing a good job of defense, the Pelicans' offense also played quite smoothly and sharply, and the outside line started to rain with 3 points! 11 of 14 shots, and scored 33 points on the outside alone! The inside line made a total of 7 shots and 4 hits, and the whole team scored 45 points in a single quarter! At halftime, the Pelicans led by 14 points, 62-48;
Yibian fought again, Klay took the lead in hitting backwards, TJD air connection included continuing firepower! Zion slashed 4 points in a row, CJ 3 points continued, and the Pelicans once again opened the difference! Wiggins and Curry scored 4 points in a row to 71-60, and the Warriors blasted a wave of 6-0 to chase only 5 points, and the Pelicans quickly called a stop! This timeout was very effective, and Zion, Jones, and Murphy combined to score 8 points, and the difference came to 13 points again, which also stopped the Warriors! After the timeout, the Pelicans continued to hold 10+CJ repeatedly repelled the Warriors' scoring momentum at critical moments. At the end of the third quarter, the Pelicans led by 13 points at 88-75;
In the final quarter, Klay made 2 free throws and 2 hits, and Murphy responded with 3 points! Klay continued to make fouls and made 2 free throws, Zion's ball control error was broken, and the Warriors counterattacked and chased 2 more points! TJD grabbed the offensive rebound and made a basket again, and the point difference came to single digits, and the Pelicans quickly shouted to stop! After the pause, the Warriors continued to exert their strength, and after Klay hit a 3-point shot, the difference was only 3 points! Zion broke through the layup to make it 2+1, Curry scored 3 points and one arrow through the heart, Zion broke through the basket and hit again, and the Warriors shouted stop! After the timeout, Curry led the team to continue to chase points, and Wiggins made 2 of 2 free throws to chase only 3 points! CJ hit a 3-point shot at the critical moment, and the score was fixed at 114-109. The Warriors' 3-game winning streak has come to an end and they continue to rank 10th in the West, and the "Lake Warrior Battle" in the play-offs may not be able to be staged!
In this game, the Pelicans started 5 people all double-doubled, Zion 26 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 steals and 1 block, CJ 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks, Murphy 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, Jones 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, Varland 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist;
On the Warriors' side, Curry had 33 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, Klay had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block, Wiggins had 16 points and 3 boards, TJD had 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, Green had 11 boards, 10 assists and 1 block, and Paul had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.