What we learned when Draymond finished Zion in Warriors win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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SAN FRANCISCO – Buddy Hield shook off a slow start to score 21 points as part of Golden State’s balanced attack, which put six players in double figures during Wednesday’s 104-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center .
Hield missed five of his first six shots before finding his rhythm and leading the Dubs to their second win in two nights against the Pelicans, who were without Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and CJ McCollum on Wednesday.
Draymond Green added 14 points with three 3-pointers and six assists while holding Pelicans forward Zion Williamson to just 5-for-20 shooting with some lock-down defense.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 coming off the bench, Kyle Anderson had 10 and Brandin Podziemski had 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists shortly after the Warriors announced they would pick up the option year on his contract.
Things could also get better soon.
Injured star Stephen Curry is expected to be re-evaluated Friday due to his ankle injury. Andrew Wiggins, who has also missed the last two games, has been training for Tuesday’s game and is getting closer to a return.
Golden State more than held down the fort with its two starters out. In the two games against a similarly short team from New Orleans, the Warriors defeated the Pelicans 124-106.
The Warriors, who got off to slow starts in each of their first four games, were much sharper and more efficient in Tuesday’s first half.
Green scored eight points in the first half, while Kyle Anderson connected on all three of his shot attempts to help Golden State build a 12-point lead. Hield then scored a 26-foot 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to put the Warriors up 48-45.
After Hield and Jackson-Davis combined for 15 points in the third quarter to extend the Warriors’ lead to 79-66, Golden State withstood a short run and held on for the win.
The Warriors now face a five-game road trip with stops in Houston, Washington, Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City.
These are the conclusions from Wednesday’s match:
Lindy’s first start
Waters had a big game on Tuesday and Warriors coach Steve Kerr rewarded him with a start on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old shooting guard wasn’t as active on offense as he was 24 hours earlier, scoring three points on 1-of-5 shooting to go with three assists.
It was only the second start of Waters’ career, the other coming during his rookie season in 2022 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
More smoothness from TJD
Jackson-Davis looked a lot more comfortable and at ease with his role in Kerr’s offense and once again showed why he is one of the Warriors’ most promising young players.
TJD, who didn’t miss a single shot in Golden State’s first two games (11-for-11), once again flirted with perfection, finishing 7 of 9 with two assists.
Kerr’s main challenge
Kerr has been quite successful with challenging calls this season, having overturned four calls against his team. All have involved Green, and none were bigger than Kerr’s coaching challenge on Wednesday.
Green was whistled for a foul when he tried to block a shot from Williamson with 1:13 left in the second quarter. Green – who had already committed two fouls – immediately signaled Kerr to contest the call, and after a few moments the Warriors coach asked for a replay and had the call overturned.
Had Kerr not been challenged, he probably would have had to limit Green’s playing time in the second half.
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