Buddy Hield scored a season-best 28 points, Brandin Podziemski had 19 points to spark a furious second-half comeback, and the Golden State Warriors came back from 17 down to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-106 on Tuesday night.
Zion Williamson had a season-high 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting and eight rebounds for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram scored 30 points.
Jonathan Kuminga, who started the first three games for Golden State but averaged 8.0 points on a 33.3% shooting percentage, came off the bench to score 17. Reserve Lindy Waters III had 21 points and nine rebounds in his best game yet for Golden State.
The short-handed Warriors needed everything from everyone, with starters Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins sidelined.
Curry missed the game with a sprained left ankle that he injured in the second half of Sunday’s 112-104 loss to the Clippers. He will be reevaluated on Friday.
Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton both suffered lower back problems. Coach Steve Kerr called Wiggins questionable for the second straight game against New Orleans Wednesday night at Chase Center.
Pelicans: New Orleans had a 44-34 rebounding advantage after dominating the boards in the first quarter.
Warriors: The Warriors limited their turnovers to eight after committing 21 on Sunday and forced New Orleans to 23 for 31 points – good for 14 steals. Golden State overcame shooting 5 for 23 in the opening quarter – 2 of 13 from three-point range – to fall behind 31-14.
Podziemski’s 3-pointer with 8:22 left in the third tied the game. The next time, he scored again, giving the Warriors a 71-67 lead that they never relinquished. He also blocked two shots.
Hield returned to the starting lineup and overcame a slow start to make seven 3-pointers after a disappointing home debut Sunday in which he missed 8 of 9 3s and scored eight points.
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