Pelicans take care of business against wounded Warriors

Having lost to the second and third best teams in the Western Conference earlier in the week, the prospects were not good for the New Orleans Pelicans to snap a 3-game losing streak Thursday night at Smoothie King Center.

The prospects improved dramatically when it was announced that Golden State would be without superstar Stephen Curry and its glue player in Draymond Green.

Additionally, the Warriors were playing the second of a back-to-back on the road.

With an opportunity to take advantage of a wounded opponent, New Orleans did just that in a 101-96 win over Golden State.

Curry was out with a left quad muscle injury while Green was out with a left hip injury.

Things did not start well as the Pelicans did little offensively in the first quarter and the Warriors led 22-16 going to the second quarter and the Warriors built their lead to 11 but New Orleans turned in on, outscoring Golden State 31-24 to take a 47-46 lead by halftime.

New Orleans led 75-72 going to the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, the Pelicans built a 10-point lead but saw the Warriors climb within three but Herb Jones hit a pair of free throws with just over a second remaining to put the game away.

Brandon Ingram picked up his game after two straight subpar games and picked up his team with a an outstanding performance, scoring 32 points with 11 rebounds and six assists in his best performance since returning from an Achilles injury. Josh Hart had 14 points and Jones had 13 points, six rebounds and five steals as he continues to play outstanding basketball as one of the biggest surprises and best rookie performers in the NBA.

Gary Clark came off the bench to score 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds, playing solid defense and contributing nicely on the offensive end.

The Pelicans overcame 18 turnovers. New Orleans had a significant 15-7 edge in fast break points. The Pelicans outscored the Warriors 23-15 from the free throw line. New Orleans had a 46-42 rebound edge.

Both teams shot poorly from 3-point range with the Pelicans making just 8-of-34 (23.5%) while the Warriors sank just 7-of-33 (21.2%).

Having lost at Dallas Wednesday, it was the first time this season that Golden State has lost two straight games.

New Orleans was in sore need of a victory and got it.

The Pelicans return to action Sunday at Toronto.