The young New Orleans Pelicans took the fight straight at the NBA-best Golden State Warriors on Monday night, but the Warriors overcame an early double-digit deficit (28-17 at the end of one) to hold off a gutsy Pelicans effort in front of an ear-splittingly loud yellow-clad crowd in Oakland.
Warriors win 97-87, surviving a major scare to take a commanding 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to the Big Easy.
Key Stat:
The Warriors outran the Pelicans all night, posting 24 fast break points to New Orleans' seven. Golden State didn't get out on the run as much as they wanted to throughout the contest, but they did just enough to swing the game in their favor for good.
Other Key Numbers: 1989 (the last time the Warriors had a 2-0 series lead), 45 (the amount of minutes a clearly-exhausted Anthony Davis played for New Orleans)
Golden State MVPs:
The Warriors offense sputtered early in this one, but NBA MVP favorite Steph Curry found his stroke in the middle quarters and began to fill it up to bring the Warriors back from an early deficit. He finished with 22 points and once again showed just how essential he is to the framework of this amazing Golden State season.
Co-MVP honors go to Klay Thompson who scored a team-high 26 points and scored 11 of Golden State's 13 points during a key 4th quarter stretch run that ultimately undid the Pelicans.
New Orleans MVP:
Anthony Davis isn't scared of his first-ever playoff stage, and he's showing it so far in this series. Davis dropped 26 points to go with ten boards for a double-double on the night, and there were stretches of the game where he looked like, far and away, the best player on the court.
What's Next?
The teams get two days off before the series heads to New Orleans for Thursday's Game 3. Tipoff is scheduled for shortly after 8:30pm CST.
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