Basketball teams frequently stress the value of playing four quarters of a game. But it all came down to one quarter in the Warriors’ 114-109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at Chase Center.

Golden State defeated New Orleans by 18 points in the first, third, and fourth quarters. The Warriors lost by five points in the second quarter after being outscored by 23 points, dropping them to the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.

With 33 points, Steph Curry led all scorers, but his seven mistakes proved costly. With a career-high six steals, Zion Williamson scored 26 points, two less than teammate CJ McCollum’s 28 points.

The 3-point line and turnovers proved to be the Warriors’ undoing. The Pelicans scored 25 points while the Warriors turned over the ball 16 times. From deep, the Pelicans had a 21-point advantage. After hitting a hot streak in the second quarter, the Pelicans were 20 of 38 (52.6 percent) from long range while the Warriors were 13 of 34.

Horrible Second Quarter

The second quarter swiftly wore off any enthusiasm the Warriors had built up from their impressive first quarter. Chris Paul scored the first basket of the game with a 14-foot jumper, but the Pelicans quickly reversed the outcome. in particular from 3-point range.

Prior to today, the Pelicans had made 12.4 3-pointers on average per game. In the first quarter, they made only one of their eight 3-point tries. The other was an assault on the team that went beyond the arc. The Pelicans collectively saw ten triples dance through the net in their 13 attempts.

Five were made by McCollum, three by Trey Murphy III, and one each by Jose Alvarado and Dyson Daniels.

The Warriors’ penchant for turnovers had to be even more annoying for Steve Kerr and his coaching staff. The Warriors turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter, which allowed the Pelicans to score fifteen points, despite only two turnovers and no points off of turnovers. All things considered, an unsightly combination gave New Orleans a 45-22 second-quarter lead, trailing Golden State 62-48 at the half.

The Last Eight Minutes

During the third quarter, there were moments when the Warriors appeared to be a different squad after the intermission. Inside Chase Center, the fire began to slowly gain temperature. However, the Pelicans had more than enough responses.

Even after the Pelicans were outscored 27–26 by the Warriors in the third quarter, New Orleans led by 13 points entering the last 12 minutes, 88–75. But the stars stole the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter.

At 7:57, Curry, Green, and Williamson returned to the court, and a 12-1 Warriors run reduced the Pelicans advantage to just three points. No more tinkering from either direction.

Two clubs engaged in a heavyweight bout that lasted to the very last day of the Western Conference standings during the final stretch. During the last eight minutes, Curry scored sixteen of his thirty-three points. The people surrounding Williamson made a difference.

Due to the fact that both teams were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, there was an excessive amount of McCollum, Murphy, and Pelicans depth.

Day of Draymond

After spending a night of rest in Portland, Green quickly established himself after discovering Williamson through the first tip. Prior to his initial substitution, Williamson had a minus-11 rating. Every time the strong star attempted to drive on Draymond, Green would bully him low.

Williamson did end up with 26 points, but most of those points didn’t come from Green, and the previous number one selection earned every point he scored against him.

With 12 rebounds and 11 assists, Green’s double-double was entirely based on rebounds and assists. He scored the same amount of points as me, you, and everyone else watching the game on Friday. The same number of shots were attempted by each of us as by him.

Zero in Total

With five 3-pointers, Green scored 15 points in the previous game he played, a Tuesday night victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Should he be a cousin, another Splash Brother, or someone else entirely? Negative. Nevertheless, as the Warriors have repeatedly shown, Green’s offensive threat alone makes all the difference.