Pelicans lose by 51 at Golden State, 138-87, for a third straight defeat
Playing without Zion Williamson, who was rested, and without Trey Murphy III, New Orleans trailed 72-43 at halftime and never recovered at Chase Center. Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski scored 25 points each for the Warriors, who won their eighth in a row.
SAN FRANCISCO: The New Orleans Pelicans lost to the Golden State Warriors 138-87 on Monday night at Chase Center, a 51-point defeat that was their third loss in a row and dropped them to 4-7 at the end of a two-game trip through California.
The game was gone early. Golden State led 29-13 in the 10th minute and 35-20 after the first quarter, stretched the margin to as many as 35 points in the second quarter, and led 72-43 at halftime. A 40-point third quarter, against 22 for New Orleans, pushed the lead to 40 points at 101-61 late in the period, and the Warriors' largest lead matched the final margin.
New Orleans played the second night of a road back-to-back without two of its regulars. Zion Williamson was rested, a night after he scored 25 points in Los Angeles, and Trey Murphy III also sat out, a night after he led the Pelicans with 26 points against the Clippers. The Associated Press reported that Murphy sat out to manage his knees.
Three Warriors at 23 points or better
Stephen Curry scored 25 points in about 21 minutes, going 6 of 10 from the field and 4 of 7 from three-point range, and the wire report noted that he passed DeMar DeRozan for 16th place on the league's career scoring list during the game. Brandin Podziemski also scored 25 points, with five three-pointers, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg added 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting, with seven rebounds and four assists. De'Anthony Melton scored 16 points and Charles Bassey had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Golden State finished with 37 assists and shot 54.9 percent from the field, making 21 of 44 three-point attempts. The win was the Warriors' eighth in a row and finished a 6-0 homestand. The wire report noted that no team in league history had previously opened a season 0-3 and then won its next eight games, and that the 51-point margin was the fourth largest in Warriors history.
Queen leads New Orleans with 16 points
Derik Queen led New Orleans with 16 points off the bench, on 4-of-8 shooting and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line, with three blocked shots. Dejounte Murray scored 12 points, Jeremiah Fears had 11 points and a game-high eight assists, and Herbert Jones scored 10. No other Pelican reached double figures.
The Pelicans shot 36.2 percent from the field and 8 of 28 from three-point range, and they were outrebounded 59 to 40 and outscored 52 to 38 in the paint. The wire report noted that the defeat was only the second loss by 50 or more points in franchise history; the other came in a 2009 playoff game, when the team, then known as the Hornets, lost 121-63 at home to Denver.
The loss followed a 139-123 defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night and a home loss to Minnesota on Friday, and it ended the short winning run that had preceded them: New Orleans had won four games in a row before this three-game slide. The Pelicans return home to play Brooklyn on Wednesday night, Nov. 11. Golden State, now 8-3, plays at Houston on Wednesday.
None to date. The Tribune corrects errors promptly and transparently. Read our corrections policy.
