Stephen Curry did it again and the Golden State Warriors are bound for the Western Conference semifinals after sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans out of the first round.
Warriors vs. Pelicans final score, NBA playoffs 2015: Golden State completes sweep of Pelicans
The Pelicans fought back at every turn and even made the end of the game interesting, but the Warriors at last turned them into an extinct species for these playoffs.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Curry once again proved he's the hottest naturally occurring substance on Earth, tallying 39 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including his usual insane jumpers down the stretch to keep away the never-say-die Pelicans in a 109-98 win. The game-sealing shot came off incredible ball movement, started by Curry and finished by his running mate Klay Thompson, with all five players touching the ball within seconds.
New Orleans fell behind early, surrendering consecutive three-pointers to close the first quarter that put them down seven. They never led the rest of the game, trailing by 13 at halftime as the Warriors' Big 3 of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green did their things.
Down 21 headed into the fourth quarter, an immediate 9-0 run by the Pelicans was reminiscent of Game 3, in which Golden State roared back from 20 down to win in overtime. But New Orleans didn’t have that type of firepower. Coming back against the league’s best team, despite several desperate pushes to keep their season alive, just wasn’t happening Saturday night.
Here are three things we learned from the game.
1. The Warriors’ Big 3 basically beat New Orleans all by themselves
At the end of the third quarter, the Pelicans had 67 points -- the same as Curry, Thompson and Green combined. (It was an 88-67 Warriors lead when you factored in the rest of the team.) Green and Curry both finished with near triple-doubles, with Green finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Curry did 39, eight and nine. Klay Thompson finished with just 25 points and three boards.
With those three, the Warriors are almost guaranteed to have three of the top four or five players in any given series. That’s a powerful advantage.
2. Until next season, Anthony Davis
Watching Anthony Davis emerge from a terrifying player who still didn’t know how to use his own strengths, into a legitimate MVP candidate, into a guy who led his team to a playoff berth, was one of the best parts of this NBA season. The series didn’t end like New Orleans hoped, but it was by no fault of Davis’ -- even in this game, he tallied a line of 36 points, 11 rebounds and a trio of vicious blocks.
This year, New Orleans saw Davis, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon all miss significant time. With an ever-improving Davis and a healthier season from their other key players, the Pelicans could be a dangerous team to contend with in the West. There's no telling exactly how good they can be.
3. Now we see how far the Warriors can go
The first-round series is in the books and the NBA title favorites take a little break as they await the second round, where things will start to heat up. Golden State appears to be a special team -- they looked it in the regular season and they look like it now. How far can this run take them?
See More:
